Thank you, sir.

Yeah, put it on page three.

How are you?

Doing well, how are you?

Good.

Put it on the bottom, uh, Pat.

Yeah.

Anybody else, I'll call, you know, I always call anybody who hasn't signed up, so not to worry.

You bet.

Good see you, Pat.

No science.

Uh, welcome to everybody.

Uh, we'll be getting going in just a couple of minutes.

Trying to accommodate everybody who doesn't have a seat at the moment.

However, we'll be getting going in a couple of minutes.

A couple of the rules of the roads.

Uh, we appreciate not waving signs.

I'm glad you have them, uh, so that everybody can uh have their eyes looking forward to not missing anything.

That's in our rules.

And we'll be uh getting going shortly to hear from all of you.

All right, I'm calling to order this uh public hearing of the common council for April twenty-eighth twenty twenty-six.

It's now six thirty-eight.

And our subject tonight is the budget, capital improvement, and revenue plans for the fiscal year starting July one.

And that'll be the only subject matter we're taking up tonight.

Uh in terms of the budget process, we're in about the uh bottom of the sixth, so the top of the seventh inning of uh the mini uh getting a budget together for the next fiscal year.

And uh we want you to know it's been conveyed to us that uh the mayor and our legislative delegation are as we speak up at the state capitol working out a plan that will uh close a gap that many of you want to speak of tonight.

And uh we want you to know it's been conveyed to us that uh the mayor and our legislative delegation are as we speak up at the state capitol working out a plan that will uh close a gap that many of you want to speak of tonight, and I hope we will have that moving forward as the council gets down to deliberating the final budget that will be approved.

Uh I hope sometime in May.

Uh with that said, we'll begin our public participation.

Uh but I have to call call the roll.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

Mr.

Clerk, call the roll, please.

Alderman Barrero.

Present.

Alder Woman Scott.

Alderman Osborne.

Alder Woman DeLunia.

Alderman Santiago.

President.

Alder Woman Vargas.

Here.

Alderman MacDamara.

Here.

Alder Woman Lose Lock Lose Ortiz Luna.

Alderman Malinowski.

Here.

Alderman Simpson.

Present.

Alderman Smedley.

Alderman Santano.

Alder Woman Barboza.

Alder Woman Maldonado.

You have a quorum, Mr.

Alderman.

Thank you, Mr.

Clerk.

I forgot.

Excuse me.

Alderman Gibson.

Last but not least.

We'll be joined by other alder people as our meeting goes along to hear from all of you.

Mr.

Clerk, will you please read into the record the notice of this meeting?

Mr.

Chair.

Alderman Santiago.

Make a motion to waive the reading of the legal notice.

A second by all the woman Barboza.

All those in favor?

All right.

This meeting having properly noticed, we'll begin hearing from the public.

Again, please remember to state your name and address for the record.

You've got three minutes.

The floor is yours for three minutes only.

And I'd ask you would address your remarks to the chair, not to members of the council or to the audience.

Mr.

Chairman.

And the chair recognizes Alderman Scott who has joined us.

Again, this is for consideration of item 371 through 37139-1 to act upon the resolution regarding the general fund budget.

Item 37140-1 to act upon a resolution regarding the special revenue funds and enterprise funds for the city for the next fiscal year.

And item 37141-1 to act upon a resolution regarding the budget appropriation for capital improvements in the city.

In the order they everybody signed up.

What oh my okay, go ahead.

Thank you.

Good evening, everybody.

My name is Adele Al Koshari, and I live a oh how are you with now?

I go.

Hello, parents, guardians, community members, teachers, and administrators.

My name is Afaf El Safari, and I live at 269 Lawler Street.

We are fifth graders and members of the student of the Swan Elementary Student Council.

Today we want to address the budget proposal.

First, I want to discuss the role of the family school liaisons.

They are important because they support families in need by organizing donations, such as food, uniforms, and supplies.

Next, let's talk about the let's talk about bilingual teaching assistance.

They're instrumental in providing language language support.

In 2021, I left America to visit my family in Yemen.

After eight to ten months, I returned to the United States, struggling with English language.

A bilingual teach uh teacher, Miss E supported me with my reading and writing.

Today I feel fluent in and in reading and writing, advancing to a sixth grade level.

In conclusion, please consider increasing the new Britain budget proposal so our schools can stay awesome.

Thank you for taking the time to attend this meeting.

Thanks to both of you.

Next name on the list is Eric Downer Downer.

Good evening, members of the council.

My name is Eric Downer.

I'm a lifelong resident of uh this great city, New Britain.

Um, I'm also an elected business agent for Teamsters Local 671.

Uh that local represents approximately 4,000 members uh throughout the state of Connecticut, and I have the distinct honor of representing uh 300 hardworking men and women who provide school transportation to the public school system here in New Britain at first student.

Many of these live right here in New Britain, send their children to these schools and show up every single day as an essential part of our educational system.

I just want to remind the council.

School transportation workers are not separate from the education district.

We are a part of it.

We are the first face students see in the morning and the last one they see before they go home.

When school schedules are cut, when programs are reduced, when teachers and nurses are laid off, it doesn't just impact classrooms, it directly impacts our members, their hours, their livelihoods, the families, and this community.

And many of our members are parents in this very district.

They send their kids to school in these districts.

Single mothers who grab these jobs because first student allows them to take their kids to school and provides transportation to the school district.

So when you cut here, you're not just cutting a budget line.

You're hitting the same families twice.

Once at work and once at home.

Thank you.

Thank you, Eric.

Our next speaker is Anita Fasio.

Good evening, members of the Common Council.

My name is Anita Fazio, and I live at 19 Forest Street in New Britain in this beautiful city.

And I am the extremely proud principal of Gaffney Elementary School.

And I have some of my staff members who are standing behind me to support Gaffney and to support the consolidated school district of New Britain and this budget.

Not just as an administrator, but someone who has dedicated over 30 years, my entire professional career to the students of New Britain, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

My roots and my heart are firmly planted in this district and in this city.

And I remember the promises made to our community.

During Bobby Sanchez's campaign, our mayor, he stood before the people of New Britain, and he said he would give more money to the school system.

He looked our families in the eye and he promised to prioritize our children.

Tonight, the reality in our buildings provides uh proofs otherwise.

We are at a breaking point.

Last week, Gaffney felt a devastating blow.

We lost seven, seven amazing teachers.

And these are not just names on a spreadsheet, they are the backbone of our school's culture.

I don't have children of my own, but I will tell you this.

If I did, I would beg for them to be in the classrooms of these seven individuals.

They represent the best of our profession, and yet they were told there is no room for them in our budget.

We aren't here with a wish list.

We aren't asking for extra bells and whistles.

We are simply asking for the status quo.

We are asking to keep what we had last year.

By refusing to fund even the basic minimum, you are sending a message to our families that their children are valued less, less this year than they were last year.

Our students, the children of New Britain already face enough hurdles, and they deserve more than what you're giving them.

They deserve consistency, and they deserve the teachers who know their names and know how they learn.

When you look at the budget numbers tonight, please, I don't want you to see line items.

I want you to see the thousands of children whose education will be disrupted if a compromise can't be reached.

The current path is not sustainable, and it's not just our kids are doing their part.

Now it's time for you to do yours.

Thanks.

Thanks, Anita, and to your colleagues for being here.

Dorian?

Devon.

My bad.

Okay.

Got me.

Thank you.

Um, Dovon Hendrix, 150 College Street, Harford, Connecticut.

Good evening, Common Council.

I stand before you today not to point fingers or question anyone's leadership.

I truly believe everyone in this room share the same goal, doing what's best for the scholar we serve every day.

On paper, I am a sixth grade math teacher at Pulaski Middle School, a non-tenured teacher, so you know what that means.

A TRP alumnus.

Beyond that, beyond that, I am African American man who has overworked to overcome significant odds.

The first male and my immediate family to attend and graduate college, earning two associates' degrees in business administration and human services, a bachelor's degree in human services, and master degree in organizational leadership.

I am also a single father who spent four years fighting for and gaining soul custody of my beautiful daughter.

I chose uh an alternative path into education initially to build a career to allow me to be present for my daughter.

But soon, but as I began that journey, my purpose grew.

During my residency year at Northern Elementary, I worked with students who look like me, came from similar backgrounds.

That connection matters.

It helped me understand and reach them in a meaningful way.

While there are also noticed something else, there was no male academic teachers, and no male teacher of color.

In fact, I personally didn't have a teacher who looked like me until high school.

That experience showed me how important representation is.

A diverse leadership team, a staff united around a shared mission to serve students and push towards excellence.

In the words of Principal Whitehead, our goal is to make our school a blue ribbon school, which we will achieve.

Programs like the TRP opened the doors for me, and this district gave me the opportunity to fulfill my purpose, both professionally and personally.

I understand the that budgets are real constraints, but I have to ask.

Haven't our scholars already faced enough challenges?

With proposed cuts to program, teachers, and even schools, we have to consider the impact.

How does this move us closer to what our scholar truly needs?

We are often reminded by Dr.

Gasper to be the beacon, and that's exactly what we are.

So if you ask me what we bring to the table, we bring the legs.

All of the all in hopes that the following year would be different.

More than a decade later, the ECS formula remains broken.

As a result, districts like New Britain continue to manage rising costs, increasing student needs, and unfunded state mandates.

Dr.

Gasper outlined these challenges clearly in his recent budget presentation.

They are not new, but the results of years of structural underfunding.

At the same time, we have seen what true investment in our schools can make possible.

At SMALE, we have achieved consistent growth in both math and ELA while reducing absenteeism by more than 10%.

More importantly, we have built a school community where students feel valued, connected, and supported.

That transformation began when our building was renovated, one of the many successful school construction projects in New Britain.

It stands as an example of what can happen when city and state leaders work together toward a shared goal.

We are grateful for Mayor Sanchez, whose leadership as a former state representative helped to secure those funds.

But a building alone does not transform schools.

People do.

Through collaboration, a focused improvement plan funding and strong community and family partnerships.

We have strengthened our school culture.

Last week alone, SMALLY had a carnival where over 300 family members attended.

With this more support of instructional coaches and resources, we are strengthened teaching and learning by building staff capacity and providing targeted support to our students.

Our wind block ensures that every child receives the math and reading intervention or enrichment, guided by progress monitoring and data decision making.

This model that was recognized by the state of education, and I was invited to share that model at the Performance Matters Conference.

We are doing great things here in New Britain.

In addition, our after school program serves over 160 students, offering both academic support and enrichment, theater, taekwondo, pottery.

These opportunities matter, but they require sustained funding, sustained funding and staffing to continue.

The progress we are seeing is a result of commitment, collaboration, and investment in the working together.

This is not a time for division or blame.

Our students deserve adults to working together to solve this problem.

If we want the state to recogn to prioritize education, New Britain must demonstrate the same commitment locally.

Investing in our schools is investing in our future.

Thank you.

Thank you, Ms.

Ligno.

Our next speaker is Gina Eller.

Gina, hello, my name is Gina Eller.

I live at 14 Rogers Road in Woolkit, and I'm the director of adult education here in New Britain.

Today I would like to share a different perspective on the education discussion.

Oftentimes, adult education is overlooked as part of the Board of Education.

Yet our students are the parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents of the K-12 students we serve every day.

When we support adult learners, we're also supporting families, strengthening households, and improving outcomes for children throughout New Britain.

This past year alone, adult education served nearly 500 adult students who are working to complete their high school diploma, improve their English language skills, or prepare for U.S.

citizenship.

In addition to our credit diploma, pre-GED and GED, national external diploma programs, ESL and citizenship classes, we offer family literacy and digital literacy programs that help adults support their children's learning and navigate the digital age.

This school year we had over 650 residents registered through our online portal, representing only a fraction of the adults in our community who need these services.

The need is very significant.

Local data shows that approximately 21% of New Britain residents age 18 and older, about 7,464 adults do not have a high school diploma.

National data shows that about one in five adults read below a fifth grade level, limiting their ability to help their children with homework, complete job applications, understand health information, or advance in the workforce.

Among the students who come to us, fewer than 4% are prepared for secondary level math, and many struggle with basic reading and writing skills.

These learners often begin at an elementary and middle level skills.

Adult education provides them with the foundational literacy skills they need to progress towards a diploma, job training, higher education, and sustainable employment.

Despite this ever-present and ever growing need, the adult education budget has been flat funded for the past 13 years, even as operating costs and salary increases have risen.

In addition, this year our state funding was capped at almost 14%, and that cap is likely to remain in place this fiscal year, potentially impacting the quality and reach of our programs.

It is clear that additional funding is necessary to meet the real needs of New Britain's adult population through current partnerships with literacy volunteers in the American Job Center and developing developing partnerships with local businesses and community colleges.

We're working to build a comprehensive adult education system that addresses low literacy, language development, digital skills, diploma completion, post-secondary enrollment, job training, and sustainable employment.

When we invest in adult education, we invest not only in individual learners, but in the economic stability and long-term success of entire families and neighborhoods throughout New Britain.

Thank you for listening.

Thank you, Ms.

Eller.

I'm gonna call up two uh individuals up now.

Uh in the Sangara and Kirle Serrano.

Step forward.

And pronounce your name for me because I'm not sure I hit her right.

It's in Theira.

Okay.

Give even good evenings, ladies and gentlemen.

My name is Anthira.

I'm a seventh grade student at Pulaski Middle School.

I'm here tonight because I'm severely concerned about the budget crisis.

I am deeply passionate about my education, including the opportunities that I've been given.

Such an extreme budget cut agreeably effects, not only my education as a student, but my growth and development.

During the duration of my volleyball season, I built many bonds with staff members, especially the coaches who trained me to the player I am today.

Without all the support I've gone from the staff, I want to be the same confident girl as I am right now.

But cutting staff, this is essentially breaking the bonds and connections students have built within certain staffs.

In addition to staff cuts, staff doesn't only guide us, support us, but also helps us succeed academically and personally.

For all my life, I've been in school, every single teacher I've had supported me through everything.

But having to lose that trusted adult just because of rojaquet deeply affects me.

Not only am I losing my teacher, but my mentor who comforted me during difficult times.

Out of the result of these budget cuts, the impacts will extend beyond the staff, but also in sports.

In Ed Rising, I met new peers who I now laugh with every day.

Within this club, people who dreamed of becoming educators or even just leaders have the opportunity to now pursue that career path at a young age.

Whereupon in BAN, many dislike expressing themselves in other activities except music.

Music has brought me joy and happiness.

Lastly, and regarding volleyball, although I've only started in sixth grade, I am deeply committed to this sport, even consistently training outside of my season to not only show others my dedication, but myself.

Losing volleyball is like losing a part of me.

Who would want to see all their training go down the drain because of a budget cut?

In conclusion, the budget crisis has sweeped far enough to where it directly affects students and the opportunities that shape our educational experiences.

As I highlighted, programs like Ed Rising Band and Lasty Girls Volleyball are spaces where students like me can build relationships and discover their new passions.

Throughout volleyball, I have formed strong friendships with my teammates and my coaches who help me shape my confidence and growth.

Then in advising, I've shared similar goals for aspirations for the future.

Lastly, in brand, I found my true self through music.

All of these experiences demonstrate that poor funding will weaken the many connections between the students and the staff.

Most students will feel less supported and less motivated without the help of staff.

Therefore, I ask you carefully to consider the impacts of the cuts to students, especially students like me.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Thank you.

Hi, I'm Carelis Um Serrano.

I live in 540 High Street.

Good evening.

My um my name is Corellis.

Um I'm a student at Pulaski Middle School.

I'm I'm here tonight because I'm extremely concerned about the budget cuts that were happening in the wind.

At Pulaski, I participate in Ed Rising course, girls volleyball.

I also um, and also the girls and boys volleyball team football team, flag football team.

I got the opportunity to meet people from different grade levels.

I I got the chance to be myself around my team.

I got I I got to meet new people that teach me way more than school does.

If you cut after school programs, this affects not only me, but the people that won't be able to do the sports or activities they love to they love.

That some people can't, some people can't um afford to do sports outside of school.

The school couldn't afford jerseys.

For example, my flag football team couldn't get enough money to get jerseys, so my dad stepped in and got jerseys for the team.

If you do these budget cuts, I I may not see teachers I enjoyed seeing and talking to teachers that I had bonded with.

When I was crying at school, my teacher checked up checked on me, made sure I was ready to continue the rest of my day.

These programs are important to me and the rest of the students because they won't be able to experience new things if you make these budget cuts.

I won't be able to improve at the sports I do.

I won't be able to see the coaches that made me that made me um to be the player I am today.

I won't be able to see the um course teacher who taught me to bring out my voice.

I am not um I am not scared because I have people that have my back if I mess up if I have my voice cracks.

Course plays a role in my education because it teaches me how to learn music.

I I have never heard it of heard of.

It teaches me how how to read notes and choir and choir teaches me how my voice can handle singing.

It also teaches me to appreciate the arts and and my interests that extend beyond the classroom settings.

Please consider the effect that cutting the um budget will have on our students and school.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you both for representing Pulaski tonight.

Our next speaker is Beth Deeds.

Good evening, Council members.

This is my team.

My name is Elizabeth Dietz.

I am a licensed registered nurse in the state of Connecticut, working in New Britain for CSDMB as the district nursing supervisor.

And I live in and in Ellington, Connecticut.

I am here today as a voice for the nursing department in reference to the CSD NBA superintendent's proposal of positions to be eliminated as a result of budget constraints, both at the city and state levels.

The proposed would eliminate two district nursing positions.

Two positions we can't afford to lose.

I am not here tonight to place blame on any one entity.

I understand and I am not immune to the very real financial challenges facing our city and our state.

Tonight I stand in front of you to speak out on behalf of a silent yet essential partner in every student's success, the school nurse.

Here they are.

And not everybody is here tonight because some of them have to work.

We have second jobs as nurses.

School nurses work autonomously, often behind the scenes, without expectation of reward or recognition.

Their focus is not on test scores, attendance numbers, or social standing.

Their focus is solely on the physical and mental health of the students and trusted to their care.

Without this foundation, academic success will be a struggle for many of our students.

School nurses are responsible for navigating and enforcing district, state, and federal policies while making real-time decisions that directly impact the health and safety of every student in this district.

These decisions are often made under pressure, with limited resources, and always with the well-being of the children at the forefront.

The nurse's office is frequently the first place students turn for consistent care, stability, and support, not only for physical concerns, but for emotional and mental health needs as well.

For many students, the school nurse is a trusted adult, a safe place, and a constant presence in an otherwise unpredictable day.

Beyond direct care, school nurses manage chronic health conditions, administer medications, respond to emergencies, coordinate with families and healthcare providers, and ensure compliance with public health regulations.

They help keep students in school, ready to learn, healthy, and ready to participate fully in their education.

NASAN, which is the National Association for School Nurses, a nationwide support system for school nurses, recommends that a school nurse ratio should be one to 750 healthy students, or one school nurse for every 225 unhealthy students or students with daily needs.

The state of Connecticut recommends that a school nurse be present on school premises.

However, state law does not require a school nurse in every school building.

This lack of a mandate creates gaps in a district's ability to staff schools in accordance with the National Association of School Nurses.

Recommendations.

Additionally, the absence of a nurse on site may expose the district to potential liability should a medical emergency occur when no licensed medical profession is present in the building.

CSD nursing department has 29 school nurses and one nursing supervisor.

Of these 30 nurses, 21 registered nurses and eight licensed practical nurses.

The nursing department to date, with 34 more days left of the school year, we have seen 113,485 visits across this district.

22,900 medications have been administered by our nursing team.

I know I got cut short, so I'll keep going.

Of these, 350 have life-threatening allergies that must have immediate emergency medication if needed.

In addition to serious medical needs, the district serves as a substantial population of students with developmental and behavioral challenges.

There are more than 600 students that have been diagnosed with autism in this district.

Many of them require individuals' health and behavioral supports throughout the school day.

Over 300 students carry a diagnosis and often necessitating coordinated care between nursing staff, mental health professionals, and special education teams.

When we invest in school nursing services, we are not simply funding a position.

We are investing in student attendance, academic success, equity, and overall community health.

The work of the school nurse often goes unseen, but its impact is profound.

The nurses in this district want to make sure all the students return home in the same condition they arrived or better.

Tonight I ask that we recognize the indispensable role school nurses play in this district and consider their value as an essential part of the educational team.

Supporting school nurses is ultimately supporting our students, and that is something we can all agree is worth protecting.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you, Beth.

I know you cut into the time of the nine nurses behind you, but I never say no to a nurse.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Jennifer Gibb.

Good evening.

My name is Jennifer Gibb.

I have been a nurse in the district for five years.

I provide care for elementary students in our special programs.

These students often have multiple disabilities, such as autism, seizure disorders, type 1 diabetes, as well as other complex medical issues.

We as nurses provide more than band-aids and ice packs.

We make it possible for our students to remain in the school setting rather than in a hospital or at home.

As nurses, we are the bridge between the medical world and the classroom.

We give parents peace of mind, knowing they can send their child to school without fear of a medical crisis.

We advocate for our students.

We attend IEP and 504 meetings, making sure our students' needs are addressed.

We train staff on seizure protocols, when and how to use an epi pen and other training that may be needed for a specific student.

The majority of the students I provide care for are nonverbal.

So today I come to you as their voice.

Having a nurse in a school isn't a luxury, it's a necessity.

Thank you.

Thank you, Jennifer.

Next speaker is Ahmed Doralium.

Ahmed.

Just name and address for the record, Ahmed.

My name is Ahmed Ibrahim, and I live at 18 Greenwood Street.

I'm a junior at New Britain High School.

I stand with you not to address numbers and dollar signs, but to address faces and smiles.

Out of all of my accolades, what I'm most proud of is this jersey that I'm wearing.

Although this was the same city I grew up in, it was a new school and a new environment to get used to.

It was a troubled start.

Grades dropped as well as my confidence, and it seemed like sophomore year was just destined for failure.

And then came volleyball.

More than just a leather ball, but a source of joy for me.

Coach was more than just a coach, but they were a role model.

Sports gave me a second family, as you can see behind me.

It gave me leadership that influenced me to come out and speak to you all.

And I don't exactly know what type of person I would be without sports, but I'm sure that I wouldn't be as proud of myself as I am now.

The new budget proposal will not only affect students' opportunities to show the talent that I know each and every one of us have, but it will take away the opportunity to grow past what inner city kids are reflected to become.

Sir, we're doing the list in order.

We'd love to hear from you.

Okay, I'll wait my turn and make sure you give me on the list.

Yeah.

Our next speaker is Christina West.

Kenya.

I'm sorry about that.

Christina.

Tell me what it is.

Good evening, members of the Common Council.

My name is Christina West Krupa.

I stand before you as a special education teacher in this district.

I grew up in New Britain.

I'm a graduate of New Britain High School, and my first job was a camp counselor with parks and recreation.

I later became a paraeducator in our schools, and after taking time to raise my own children, I returned to New Britain public schools as a special education teacher where I've proudly served at Jefferson Elementary for the past five years.

I'm here today because our district is facing critical budget gap for the 26-27 school year.

And while numbers are alarming, what matters most is what it means for our students.

We are being asked to do more with significantly less.

But belief alone cannot sustain our educational system.

Dedication is not funding our services, and heart does not lower caseloads or keep class sizes manageable.

Commitment alone cannot give our students the opportunities that they deserve.

These supports are not optional, they are legal obligations.

IEPs and 504 plans are federally mandated.

When we cannot meet those requirements, the consequences are not only educational but financial.

Districts are forced costly outplacements and legal disputes that far exceed the cost of providing services appropriately from the start.

And beyond the legal requirement is our moral responsibility.

Our students deserve access, dignity, and every opportunity to succeed, and we are responsible for making sure they get it.

I have seen what happens when we get it right.

I've watched a student with dyslexia receive the right interventions, become a fluent reader and gain the confidence to succeed independently.

I've seen a student with autism develop communication skills through speech and occupational therapy and fully participate in a classroom.

Behind every one of those successes are educators who show up every single day and give everything they have.

Our teachers are spread thin.

You can feel it in the long hours, the growing caseloads and class sizes, and the constant balancing of academic, behavioral, and social emotional needs.

But walk into our classrooms.

You won't know it, because they show up with heart, passion, and an unwavering belief in their students.

I've seen teachers spend their own money so students can access the curriculum.

I've seen colleagues who should be on their lunch break, sitting on the floor next to a student who just needed a little more time, a little more patience, and a little more belief.

They do this because they believe in our students and the power of education.

Every day I make a promise to my students that I will show up, that I will advocate for them, and that I will help them because they need to be the best versions of themselves.

Standing here tonight is part of keeping that promise.

Because if I did not stand here and I did not speak up, I would be breaking a promise.

And I don't break promises, especially to my students.

They'll definitely call me out also.

Let this be the moment we choose to invest in them, not limit them.

Thank you.

Thank you, Christina.

Our next speaker is Wendy Clark.

Wendy Clark, 26th Skipper Street.

Good evening, members of the Common Council.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight.

I'm here to ask you to fulfill the full Board of Education's funding request.

We as a city need to do better for our children.

Our children deserve more.

For decades, education in New Britain has been underfunded.

I watched it happen when my daughter was a student at Jefferson School, and we talked about as a district whether we should buy toilet paper or copy paper for our schools.

Our schools work harder with less every day.

Living in one of the richest states in America, this should not be happening.

We as a city have the opportunity and the responsibility to begin fixing this problem.

Prioritizing education is not just a dream.

It needs to be a reality starting today.

We did not get here overnight.

Years of flat funding by the city and underfunding by the state has created this financial emergency.

Unfunded mandates, the rising cost of transportation, special age, special education, and even the rising cost of copying paper is a reality each and every day.

New Britain schools have made great strides under the leadership of Dr.

Tony Gasper.

He is not asking for more.

He is asking for status quo.

This is truly a baseline service budget request.

The services that are to be cut are vital to our students and our families of New Britain.

And as a parent and a resident of New Britain, this is not acceptable.

The students of New Britain are our future.

They are watching us.

Our families are counting on us to make sure New Britain students receive opportunities to reach their full potential that they deserve.

We all deserve.

Thanks for speaking, Ms.

Clark.

Our next speaker on the list is Aaron Morabito.

Aaron Ross Powell Hi, good evening.

My name is Aaron.

I work with CT State Community College and live in Seymour, Connecticut.

I'm here today because I care deeply about the impact that these budget cuts will have on our students, our children, and communities.

I've been working in higher education for over five years now, and I've seen students from all walks of life.

I've watched the ways that a well-funded K through 12 education can impact students positively.

Things like support services, after school activities, and reasonable classroom sizes are all critical to the experience a child has.

And the lack of these things is detrimental there can to their continued education and the community.

Students who have these supports in their K through 12 education system have shown higher GPAs, higher retention and graduation rates, and are more connected to their campus and local community when they reach college.

They are quicker to enter the workforce and have more have had more guidance when developing critical skills that they take outside the classroom.

Students without these supports are more likely to end up on academic probation, lose their financial aid funding, take longer to graduate, or even drop out of college before completing their degree.

And these are only the students that even get to start a college career.

Without these critical services in K through 12 schools, many do not even consider college as an option.

The data is clear.

Decreases in educational funding lead to lower test scores and lower college enrollment rates.

One of these key factors includes the loss of teachers and staff in K through 12 schools.

On the other side, increases in educational funding leads to higher test scores and a shrinking of the achievement gap between high poverty and low poverty districts.

This data comes from the Learning Policy Institute from 2022 to 2024.

In closing, I want to remind you that the children in these schools are our future.

They are our nurses, our construction workers, our bankers, our transport drivers, and our neighbors.

And investment in their education is an investment in our community.

Thank you.

Thank you, Aaron.

Our next speaker is Jeff Pontiselli.

Jeff.

All right, we'll move on to the next name.

No.

Mr.

Pontiselli here.

Okay.

My next speakers are Jose and Ash Vasquez.

Do I have that right?

Just remind everybody to state your name and address for the record.

And the floor is yours for three minutes.

Jose Vasquez, 273 Cherry Street.

I I ask you to change the budget mainly because my roots are in North End.

And I've started there and I've been there for five years.

And now I'm in Slade for three years.

But yet I see things be changed more and more as I go.

And just to have my roots ripped out from the ground that easily, I cannot stand with that.

The main thing I ask you is to change the budget.

How this is affecting me is because most of my teachers that were recently hired or recently hired in my school in general are getting moved.

And these are really good teachers as well.

Eighth grade, eighth grade teacher, removed.

She just started here, and she's a really a really good teacher.

Very nice and very helpful as well.

But yeah, I see changes that shouldn't be happening.

And then for music, I'm in band and qu I'm in Bannon Choir, and yet I'm hearing that one of them might be moved.

And I'm I haven't been told which one.

And I generally don't think I want to be told which one.

And I don't understand, but I'm gonna have to.

That's all.

Thank you, Jose.

Thank you, Jose.

The next speaker on the list is Jennifer Moran.

Jennifer.

Good evening.

My name is Jennifer Moran.

I reside at 839 Slater Road.

I've been a New Britain resident my entire life.

I'm a 2010 graduate of New Britain High as well as their CNA program the same year.

I went on to become a registered nurse, and for the last four years, I've been the school nurse at Roosevelt Campus that houses Roosevelt Early Learning Center, House Academy, and Satellite Careers Academy.

I'm going to give you a little look into my current year as a school nurse.

I have a total of 674 kids.

101 of them have asthma, 52 have severe food allergies, two are diabetic, and 13 have neurological or seizure disorders.

Those are only the kids that need emergency meds in school.

That's not counting the number of students that have chronic conditions that affect them every day.

Look at the poverty levels of and our population that we have in this town.

The school nurse is sometimes the only access to medical care that these kids have.

This school year, I've seen 2600 kids.

I've given 787 meds, and I have charted 9,333 other medical tasks pertaining to the medical needs of a kid in my building alone.

Ooh, sorry, I have asthma.

School nurses are the least acknowledged professional in the school building.

However, when a staff member has an emergency or an injury, a student needs clothes, detergent, toothpaste, they break their glasses or their braces.

We're not only a nurse, we are a social worker, we are an orthodontist, we're an eye doctor and emergency response team.

Four years ago, we had many more nurses working daily, and we also had an influx of per diem nurses at the time.

We are not that lucky anymore.

When you factor in multiple people on medical leave and or out due to illness, we have been scrambling this year to find nurses to be in our schools to take care of those that are injured or ill, and or to give them their medications or treatments per their 504 and IEP plans.

And now we're trying, we're at risk of losing two more when in reality we need those two, and we honestly need another permanent float nurse to cover our gaps.

It becomes a liability and it's dangerous, you know.

Um what happens next year?

That's my biggest concern when we don't have the staff to fill the schools, and we have multiple nurses out on medical leave or out due to illness, and we have nurses that aren't in the building, we have no medical person present, and there's a student or a staff member that has an emergency.

It's gonna become a liability in the sense of it's taken EMS 30 minutes to show up to my school on busy days and emergencies when I've called.

A lot of things could happen in 30 minutes, and there's a potential that the outcome might not be that great, and what will happen then?

The district will possibly maybe be sued for way more money than the 170K that you guys are trying to save by cutting two nurses.

It's heartbreaking to think about there's a potential that something could happen to one of my kids at my school because I was sick one day and there wasn't anyone to take my spot.

Thank you.

Thank you, Jennifer.

Our next speaker is Gail Connolly.

Gail.

Here you are.

Good evening.

You know, I had to write it down because I'm gonna go off the rail if I don't.

Um, caring about our community has always been something for me.

The weight of it feels almost impossible to ignore lately.

So here I am.

The issues may look familiar.

This year feels different.

Our kids deserve stability, opportunity, and support.

Not to be caught in the political maneuvering.

I will continue to stand before this council and ask consistently that you prioritize what matters most.

Find the funding to support our kids, our future.

Please make the commitment.

Education funding isn't a budget line, it's an investment in the future that we all share.

When schools are properly funded, students get more than textbooks and classrooms.

They gain access to experienced teachers.

Updated technology, keeping in mind it could took us a pandemic to get our kids one-to-one on a laptop.

They have access to sports and arts programs, mental health support, safe learning environments.

These aren't luxuries, they're a foundation of a fair and functional society.

Underfunded underfunded education systems, widen inequality.

Students in low-income communities face larger class sizes.

Our kids already do.

Fewer resources and limited opportunities, making it harder to succeed.

Not because of ability, but because of circumstance.

That gap doesn't just affect individuals.

It impacts the workforce, the economy, social stability as a whole.

Investing in education pays off.

It leads to higher graduation rates, better job opportunities, stronger communities, and more innovation.

Every dollar spent on education today reduces cost in healthcare, social services, and the justice system tomorrow.

If we want society that values opportunity, progress, and equity, funding education isn't optional, it's essential.

I thank you for your time.

Thank you, Gail.

Our next speaker is Alicia Strong.

Alicia.

All right.

Hello, Common Council members.

Um, thank you for giving me the time to speak today.

We usually don't have this many people for budget hearing.

I come every year, so I'm really happy to see the room packed.

Um I want to start by talking about the blame game.

Um, in the last week, it felt like everybody wanted to blame somebody for the crisis going on.

But I think the reality is it's no one person's fault.

It's part of a bigger system that I think we can all acknowledge is fundamentally flawed and against a lot of our students.

So when we spend time trying to blame instead of focusing on the issues, our students lose and our communities lose.

So I urge all of our leaders to really focus on what's important right now, not whose fault it is, but who's gonna lose out.

I really appreciate that the state legislature has been really pushing and there's possibility of extra money coming from the state because we know that ECS funding has not changed since I was a junior in high school, and I am now a teacher in the school district.

So that's quite a long time not to have ECS funding.

So I'm looking forward to the state giving more money, not just for schools, but also for housing, which we know is a critical need.

But today what I really want to focus on is what the common council can do.

We know you can't give us 50 million dollars.

We know that there's not enough appetite for some kind of tax increase here in order to fund education, but there are still things we can look at to give us a little more so that the students and the staff here can have a chance.

We can look at the city savings account and see what is left there and what we can bring to education.

We can look at moving money from other departments to prioritize the funding that our school need.

So while I recognize that the common council here before us cannot completely solve the education crisis, that's a much bigger issue, and that's gonna take years.

There is things you can do.

Um, as was said before, this is a proposed budget, so you all have the opportunity to go back, look at it again, and think about how we can better support our students.

Um, and I really think I really think we will.

I'm so proud of all the students and the staff who came out today and spoke their truth and spoke about what they were going through.

Um, and I just hope that this council goes back, does the right things and thinks about the stories that you heard tonight because behind the budget is people, it's numbers, it's people who really, really care about this community.

And as someone who grew up in New Britain, graduated from New Britain schools, and is now a teacher in New Britain.

Um, it has been the honor of my life to be able to support students like the ones you saw at the beginning, who uh so uh kindly gave up their recess so they could write their city budget speech.

Um that's what we need to be investing in.

Those kind of leaders, those are our next leaders.

Um I hope that you all heard the stories today and continue hearing them and go back and look at that budget and see where we can get at least another million dollars for our schools.

Thank you so much for your time.

Thank you, Alicia.

Our next speaker is Carmen Burgos.

Carmen.

Good evening, members of the common council.

My name is Karim Boregos Rosado, and I live at 156 Duttonly Street.

I come before you tonight, not just as a professional, but as someone who works with families every day.

Families who are doing everything they can to give their children stability, hope, and opportunities.

When I hear about the proposed cuts of athletics, field trips, classroom supplies, and student clubs, I don't see budget lines.

I see children, I see students who stay after school because it is a safe place where they feel seen.

I see children who light up on field trips because they are experiencing something beyond their day struggles.

I see young people who find confidence in clubs and sports when life outside of school feels uncertain.

These are not extras for many children.

These are lifelines.

When we talk about reducing pre-K transportation, I think about parents who are already juggling impossible schedules, who want to do the right by their children, but are limited by circumstances beyond their control.

Early education should open doors, not create barriers.

I'm also concerned about the possible closure of North and Elementary School and the reduction of family school liaisons, positions.

These are not just positions or buildings, they are relationships.

They are trusted people, families rely on when they don't know where else to go.

I understand budget are difficult, but what is being cut here are not just programs.

It is connection, belonging, and hope.

I ask you to please reconsider these cuts and protect the support our children and families rely on every day.

Our children are worth the investment.

Please don't take these opportunities away from them.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you, Carmen.

Our next speaker is Cassandra Lugo.

Cassandra, good evening.

My name is Cassandra Lugo.

I am the head coach for the middle school team.

My address is 40 Kensington Avenue, and I have student athletes with me today.

I proudly serve as the head coach of our middle school cheerleading team.

Since I started the program in 2025, I have witnessed firsthand the transformational journey these young athletes embark on.

And as we enter my third year leading it, I urge you to consider the profound impact of the middle school sports.

Eliminating these programs would not only disappoint our students, but also rob them of vital opportunities for personal and social development.

Cheerleading is more than just a sport, it is a platform for building essential leadership skills.

Recently, our high school, our high school cheerleading team was celebrated for becoming state champions.

Our middle school team plays a crucial role as the foundation that prepares these athletes for future success.

Discontinuing the middle school program would hinder our legacy and the growth trajectory for many aspiring cheerleaders.

This past year we achieved first place in all three competitions we entered.

Yet these trophies we earned represent more than victory.

They embody growth, trust, responsibility, and teamwork.

Many of our students lack extracurricular activities, opportunities outside the sports we provide.

Organized leagues can be expensive for families, which is why middle school sports are vital.

They offer students an avenue to explore their identities and discover their passions, fostering a sense of belonging and purpose during their formative years.

Cheerleading profoundly shaped my own life as a proud alumni of New Britain High School graduating in 2017.

I have felt the call to give back to the community.

The joy of these athletes develop and succeed is unparalleled.

Making my role as a coach incredibly fulfilling.

Let's not take this opportunity away from future generations.

Without middle school sports, we risk losing a vital part of our students' lives.

Cheerleading trials are set to take place next week, and we are excited to see the talent and enthusiasm our candidates will bring.

In preparation for the upcoming season, our team will participate in a procedure cheerleading national association camp.

This camp offers a unique experience designated to enhance our skills and foster teamwork among the members.

The opportunity to train and learn from experienced coaches at the camp is eagerly anticipated by our athletes.

It's not it not only helps them develop their cheerleading techniques, but it also ignites their passion for the sport as they bond with their teammates.

As coaches, our primary aim is to create valuable opportunities and enriching experiences for our students.

We firmly believe that the participation in this program is essential for helping them excel not only at cheerleading, but also in their academic pursuits.

Engaging in athletics teaches life skills such as discipline, teamwork, and resilience.

We are crucial for their overall development.

We are dedicated to supporting our students on this journey, and we look forward to forward to excite to an exciting upcoming season.

Say your name.

Good evening.

My name is Kaitlin Hughes.

I live on 490 Glen Street, and I'm currently the captain of the middle school cheerleading team.

I am here today to express how important it is to keep sports available to the students of New Brain and how crucial they are in helping develop young minds and healthy habits for the future.

Participating in school sports has had a meaningful impact on my life and the lives of many other students.

It has helped maintain strong grades, build lasting friendships, and stay out of trouble, both in and out of school.

Sports teach essential life skills such as teamwork, mentorship, accountability, and discipline.

Qualities that extend far beyond off and on the mat.

In addition, school sports bring families and communities together.

They give students a positive outlet and help distract from negativity, negativity that many of us may face in our daily lives.

Being involved in athletic, being involved in athletics also keeps us physically active and encourages long life healthy habits.

For many students, school sports are also the only opportunity to participate in athletics.

Not all families can afford privately funded programs, which makes access to school-based sports even more important.

These programs give students the chance to pursue their dreams and in some cases, even learn scholarships for their future education.

They are not just um school activities, they are also essential to students' growth, success, and well-being.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Thank you.

Thank you, Cassandra.

Our next speaker is Victor Schobert.

Victor.

And uh before I say anything else, I just want to express my support for the school district.

It's really powerful to see this showing here tonight.

And uh now I'm gonna talk a little bit about the library.

Um dear Alderman McNamara and members of the common council.

The currently proposed 3% budget increase for the library would mean significant cuts to core services and would severely impact our ability to pay our staff wages that are on par with other local area libraries.

And since we have such a good crowd here tonight, uh I'll remind you that in the past two years, our visitor count is up by 29%.

The use of electronic materials has increased by 74%, and the program attendance is up by 57%.

But despite these amazing numbers, uh the staff at the New Britain Public Library remain among the lowest paid library workers in the greater Hartford area.

And their wages are also low when compared to other urban libraries in the states.

Years of flat funding from the city of New Britain and small increases of the past few years means that we find ourselves in a situation where, in order to remain attractive as an employer and to get closer to equitable compensation for our staff, we have requested a 13% increase.

And keep in mind that the library's operating budget makes up approximately 1.2% of the of the overall budget.

A strong public library depends on its staff to provide materials and services for all ages, lead story times and other programs, and to expand the library's reach in the community.

They are hardworking, highly skilled people, and many of them hold master's degrees.

A 13% increase doesn't bring our staff wages up to par with other comparable local libraries, but it does get us a little bit closer.

The currently proposed 3% increase does not accomplish that.

And on top of that, it would negatively impact library users.

So turning to the council here for a moment.

I know you're all going through a very stressful time with this budget season.

Um I have some good news for you.

I saw a study that shows that uh reading for just six minutes a day can reduce your stress level by 68%.

So I invite you to visit our libraries.

Uh libraries are for everyone.

That includes all of you.

Um you know, we'll we'll find some good stress uh reduction tools for you over there.

Um I will echo a lot of what I've heard tonight by just saying um when you fund the library and the school district, you are investing in the future of New Britain.

Thank you so much for your time.

Thank you, Victor.

I'm a card carrying uh member of the library.

Our next speaker is Francesca De Via.

Francesca.

Good job, Frankie.

Welcome.

Francesca Davila, 183 Vance Street.

Good evening, members of the council.

My name is Francesca Davila, and I'm a family school liaison in the district for Vance Elementary School.

I'm standing here tonight because our Alpha Cell position is being considered for elimination, but what's truly at risk is far greater than a single role.

In my work, I support some of our most vulnerable students and families, especially those struggling with chronic absenteeism and those experiencing homelessness.

These are not easy situations.

I work with families who are living in hotels, moving from place to place, trying to keep their children in school while facing instability most of us can't even imagine.

I work with students who are missing school not because they don't care, but because their circumstances make it incredibly difficult just to show up.

And in those moments, I step in.

I help remove barriers, I connect families to resources, I build trust so that instead of disappearing, they stay connected to the school system.

I also serve as a translator interpreter for many of our Spanish speaking families, ensuring that they understand what's happening, and just as importantly that their voices are heard.

Without that support, many of these families would struggle to communicate their needs, ask questions, or advocate for their children.

Because without connection, whether through trust, support, or even language, families become disconnected.

And when that happens, attendance drops, and when attendance drops, everything else follows.

Eliminating this role will not fix attendance, it will not reduce homelessness, it will not remove language barriers, it will not make these challenges go away.

It will make them harder to manage.

Because the work doesn't disappear, the support does.

The role is not an extra, it's direct intervention, it's prevention.

It's the difference between a student staying engaged or falling completely off track.

When you remove an FSL, you're removing one of the few consistent points of contact for families who are already navigating instability, and for families who may not even be able to communicate their needs without support.

You're removing someone who knows their names, their stories, and how to help.

I understand that budget decisions are difficult, but I urge you to consider the long-term impact of this decision.

Because what may look like a cost-saving measure today can very quickly become a much greater cost tomorrow.

In absenteeism and disengagement and lost opportunity for our students, I ask you to reconsider, not for me, but for the students who are trying to show up despite everything, and for the families who need someone to help them get there and be heard.

Thank you for your time and your consideration.

Thank you, Francesca and friends.

Our next speaker is uh Desiree Costa.

Good evening.

My name is Desiree Costa.

I live at 193 Amherst Street.

We are at a point where the decisions made in this room will be felt most directly in our classrooms.

Not in spreadsheets, not in line items, but in whether teachers are in front of our students and whether those students receive the support that they need.

Which is why the moment we are in now requires not just acknowledgement, but follow-through.

Because when a system has been underfunded for this long, the consequences we are seeing today are not the result of sudden mismanagement.

They are the result of sustained underinvestment.

Suggesting otherwise, suggesting that the superintendent or the board of education is somehow the root of this problem risks shifting focus away from that reality.

It becomes a deflection from the larger issue and from commitments that were made to prioritize education funding when it mattered most.

This is about alignment between what has been said and what is being done.

That is a best case scenario.

And even in that best case, we are still falling short.

So this is not about expansion.

It's not about excess.

It is about what remains after expectations have already been scaled back.

And the consequences of not closing that gap are not abstract.

They are immediate job losses, larger class sizes, reduced services, and instability for students and families who rely on our schools every day.

At the same time, we are reviewing a proposed budget that includes increases within the mayor's office and other executive areas.

No one is suggesting those roles are not important, but in a year where we are facing an education shortfall of this magnitude, increase anywhere deserves careful scrutiny.

Because priorities are not defined by what we say, they are defined by what we fund.

This can this cannot be a burden placed solely on the Board of Education to absorb.

It requires a broader, honest review across city government of executive spending, departmental growth, and where adjustments can be made to reflect the priorities we have all publicly acknowledged.

It also requires us to use the tools available to us.

New Britain currently holds approximately 23 to 26 million dollars in reserves, about 9% of the budget.

While that is below ideal levels, I know.

It remains a meaningful resource.

No one is asking to use those funds irresponsibly.

We are asking for a measured one-time use of a portion of those reserves between three and five million dollars as a bridge.

A bridge that prevents immediate harm, a bridge that protects students, supports teachers, and preserves stability, and a bridge that allows this council and the administration the time to work together on sustainable long-term solutions.

But that decision cannot wait.

It must happen tonight, before the Board of Education meets tomorrow, so that we are not entering that meeting with uncertainty and avoidable disruption hanging over our schools.

Because without action, the impact is not delayed.

It is immediate and it falls directly on our children.

We are asking for a commitment tonight to use every responsible option available, including reserves and a comprehensive review of city spending to close this gap.

Reserves exist for moments of real need.

And if we cannot use a small portion of them now to protect the core function of our city, educating our children, then we have to ask when would we use them?

This is not about avoiding hard decisions, it's about making decisions that align with what has long been acknowledged and ensuring that this time our actions match our words.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you, Desiree.

Thank you.

Sorry, I ran over.

Sorry.

Our next speaker is Dorothy Zila.

Dorothy.

Any relation?

Maybe.

Good evening, everyone.

My name is Dorothy Zaila, and I reside at 152 Sunrise Avenue, Britain.

And behind me, you will see just some of Mama Zyla's children.

Some biological, some who I have just taken under my wing because I love them all.

I want to start by saying that I am a proud graduate of New Britain High School, and I'm also the parent of twins, Jackson and Leah.

And they have been part of the New Britain school system since pre-K3.

And now they're juniors at high at the high school becoming rising seniors.

I'm here tonight because I'm deeply concerned about the proposed school budget and the very real impact it will have on our students.

My children are actively involved in sports, band, ed rising, and many other extracurricular activities.

I can show you the mileage on my vehicle as to how all the back and forth driving.

We also have our Jarrell Hargraves golf tournament happening on June 25th.

Just a little plug, please make sure you register.

Individual sports, band, and even the all-night graduation party that after four years our kids deserve to have are largely funded by families with minimal support from the school budget.

We can only do so much as parents.

Our students are already giving everything they have.

After a full day of academics, many stay for hours to practice after school, practice, perform, and compete.

Some of our kids are at school for 12 hours a day, more than we are at our jobs sometimes.

They represent New Britain with pride, yet they often lack basic resources like updated equipment, uniforms, transportation, even meals before evening events where we are advocating to our community members seeking out donations.

Additionally, beyond these programs, I'm also concerned about the potential loss of critical staff, our teachers and paras who educate, support, and record keep our kids' progress, and specifically the family school liaisons.

There are only two FSLs serving over 2,000 students at the high school.

They do far more than just track attendance.

They conduct home visits, coordinate wellness checks, support families in crisis, and build trusted relationships with students who might not otherwise have a connection to the school.

I'm gonna put myself out there.

I'm a state employee, and I can tell you this when schools lose preventative supports like these, the burden shifts elsewhere.

Without these liaisons, more families will be referred to the child welfare agency unnecessarily.

Cases that could have been resolved within the school community.

That creates added strain on a state system that is already stretched thin.

On a personal level, one of the FSLs helped my daughter through an incredibly difficult freshman year.

Today, she is confident, engaged, and thriving.

That transformation would not have happened without that support.

This is what is at stake.

This budget is not about numbers.

It's about whether we are willing to invest in prevention, in relationships, and in the well being of our students, or whether we are willing to accept the consequences of cutting those supports.

I urge you to reconsider any reductions that would impact students' sports, programming, and essential staff like the family school liaisons.

Our students deserve more than the bare minimum.

They deserve the opportunity to succeed, to feel supported, and to be proud of the community that stands behind them.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you, Leah.

Good evening.

My name is Leah Zaila, and I'm a junior at New Brent High School.

I live at 152 Sunrise Avenue, New Britain.

I'm here tonight to advocate for the educational support systems that students like me rely on.

Supports that are now at risk due to proposed budget cuts.

Like many freshmen, I started high school with anxiety.

But as a year went on, my anxiety and depression became overwhelming.

I became detached and uninterested in school.

Despite coming from a supportive home, I struggled deeply because, as we all know, mental health doesn't discriminate.

My mom reached out for help, and that's when I met Miss Vancour, one of our family school liaisons.

She took the time to truly know me, not as a student ID number, but as a person.

She learned my triggers, helped create a plan for my success, and made sure my teachers understood what I needed.

Most importantly, she made me feel safe.

Because of her, I started showing up again, not just physically, but emotionally.

I trusted her, and that trust helped me rebuild confidence in myself.

Over time, I didn't just rely on her, I learned to use my voice and advocate for myself as I'm doing today.

Without Ms.

Vancor, I can say with complete honesty, I would not be standing here today.

That support changed the trajectory of my life.

Today I'm a rising senior.

I serve as one of the vice presidents of marketing for Educators Rising, helped manage the NBHS football team social media, and I've been deemed eligible to apply for the National Honor Society.

I'm also entering my third year.

Thank you.

I'm also entering my third year as a major in our award-winning Golden Hurricanes Marching Band.

These accomplishments didn't happen by chance.

They happened because I was supported.

And that brings me to my next point.

Our programs need more support, not less.

Our marching band is a source of pride for New Britain.

We bring energy, talent, and recognition to our school and our city.

But behind the performances are real struggles, worn uniforms held together by repeated stitching, instruments in need of repair, begging for transportation to get us to weight games and competition opportunities, and constant fundraising just to cover basic needs like meals for over 150 students weekly.

We are doing everything we can, but we cannot do it alone.

New Britain students already face significant challenges.

We hear the negative stereotypes, we see the rankings, we know what people say about us, but instead instead of investing in solutions, we are being asked to do more with less.

That doesn't fix the problem, it reinforces it.

If you truly want students like me to succeed, then we need you to invest in us.

Protect the positions that support our mental health, fund the programs that keep us engaged, motivated, motivated, and proud of who we are.

We are not statistics, we are not a lost cause.

We are students with potential resilience and determination.

All we're asking for is the opportunity to prove it.

Thank you.

Good evening.

My name is Jackson Zaila.

I'm at 152 Sunrise Ave.

Today I'm here to talk about the budget cuts.

I'm currently completing my second year as a member of the New Britain Youth Leadership Council for Youth Prevention.

And like my sister, I'm also part of Ed Rising.

This year I'm doing track for the first time, and I've been on the football team since my freshman year.

Playing football as an onc as an incoming freshman was very intimidating, but thanks to the training and discipline I learned from Coach O, I was able to grow and improve.

That opportunity gave me a strong foundation and prepared me to now compete at the varsity level.

Coach will made an enormous impact on me.

He saw something in me that I didn't see in myself.

He set high expectations and taught me the importance of hard work, discipline, and showing up.

Not just for myself, but for my team.

Football keeps me invested in my education.

It gives me a family I'm accountable to, and one that always has my back.

As a team from New Britain, we face a lot of adversity.

We're often underestimated and seen as the underdog.

Our coaches sacrifice a lot of their time investing in us.

Not just as athletes, but as young men who will contribute to our community long after we leave the field.

Despite that, we constantly have to fight for basic reform resources.

We couldn't have what other teams have without our football booster club.

They're the ones who step in to fill the gaps, providing pregame meals, organizing donations, and helping provide um and help provide and help us fundraise so we can attend camps and compete with other teams.

We're already making the most out of very little.

Any cuts to sports programs would be devastating and would put us at an even greater disadvantage.

I also want to recognize our family school liaisons, particularly Ms.

Vancour.

I'm grateful for not only the support she's given my sister, but also for the support she's given me.

Even when I seemed fun on the outside, she took the time to check in, noticed when my grades slipped, held me accountable for my tardiness, and connected my sister and me to the YWCA Summer Youth Employment Program.

No matter how busy she was, she never overlooked me.

Building relationships with teenagers isn't easy, but our school is stronger because of F FSLs like Ms.

Vancouver and our coaches, people who make real connections that motivate us to show up and give our best every day.

Now we need our city to show up for us.

Thank you.

Thanks to the Zilas for speaking up tonight.

Our next speaker is David Henney.

David.

I am a resident of 55 Cabot Street and a proud Slade Middle School Educator.

I'm gonna rip up my speech and just say ditto because I taught all of them, so there you go.

Um I want to begin uh by thanking all of you for your service.

Um I know the decisions you're facing are not easy.

As a teacher, people often tell me I could never do what you do.

Um, and tonight I feel the same about your role.

You're in a difficult position, and I really respect that.

But I'm here because our students are in an even more difficult position.

Um, and I want to start off with yet another success story we've heard so many of them.

Uh, one that represents New Britain can be uh what New Britain can be when we invest in our students.

Six years ago, New Britain High School became the first school in the state of Connecticut to launch an educating educators rising chapter, a national organization that helps students explore careers and education while building leadership and professional skills.

Through membership, hands-on experiences, and competition, students gain real world skills and confidence.

Under leadership of my friend and colleague, Miss Eileen Marquez, that program hasn't just succeeded, it has become a model across the state.

Four years ago, the two of us asked a simple question why wait until high school?

So we brought educators rising to the middle school level, again becoming pioneers as the first middle school chapter in Connecticut.

And the kids standing up here were actually in eighth grade when we started, so yay.

Since then, our students have done something remarkable.

In our very first year as a middle school club, three middle school students qualified for nationals, the first middle schoolers from the entire New England region to ever do so.

We traveled to Washington, DC and returned with a first place, second place, and sixth place finish.

Since 2022, over 100 of our students, both middle and high school, have competed at the national level for educators rising.

23 of them have placed seven of them top ten, ten of them top five, and six first place finishes, more than any other Connecticut program.

New Britain has become a beacon.

Other districts are now looking to us.

And it doesn't stop there.

This program has inspired students to pursue careers in education.

This year, our first group of seniors will be graduating college as certified teachers, planning to return to New Britain to give back to the very community that raised them.

This is what investment looks like.

This is what progress looks like.

This is what our students are capable of.

And yet the current budget proposal could completely dismantle it.

Last year, Mayor Sanchez, while on his campaign trail, spent 45 minutes speaking with me on my front porch about the importance of education and how he had plans to do better for our students.

Then and I really want to believe it now.

But when a one million dollar increase only meets the state's minimum requirement and still results in a less and a net loss for our schools, we have to ask ourselves an honest question.

Is the minimum really better?

Is it really good enough?

Because right now that's what we're telling our students that they're only worth the minimum.

Meanwhile, other cities are making different choices.

They're saying their students deserve more, so why don't ours?

Because if we accept this budget as it stands, we're not just making a financial decision, we are making a statement about who what we believe our students deserve.

And I know our students deserve more than the bare minimum.

They deserve more than survival, they deserve opportunity, they deserve investment.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

Thank you, David.

Our next speaker is Michelle Stewart Coops.

Michelle.

Michelle Stewart Coves, I'm at 281 Rocky Hill Avenue.

And I'm here to speak against uh budget cuts and to ask you to do everything in your power to please save our 49 teachers that are on that layoff list.

I joined the NACP ages ago, and it was always the major objective to hire, retain, and to support our teachers, our minority teachers, because they are great role models, they instill confidence, and they work to really work against the achievement gap.

All 49 on the layoffs list are role models, they are working to be mentors to our children, and they are all mentoring our future.

When I was on the board of ed back in the 90s, we always held the arts as sacred because we learned how it increased holistic cognitive development.

It improves language and math skills, it builds discipline and social skills, and I can remember music being one of the major reasons why I wanted to attend school.

She went to all of the public schools in New Britain.

She put eight years in this district, became tenured, and got our master's degree to become a better qualified teacher.

She left two years to pastor a church in Southington, but came back to the job that she loved.

She lost her tenure during that time and was really hoping to get her tenured back on July 1st, but she still got the pink slip.

So now Gaffney will lose the only African American teacher at that school.

And they will also lose their music program.

What message does that send to her?

And what message does that send to her students?

I'm really hoping that we can save our district.

We've been at the bottom for so long.

Now we're being cut into shambles.

So we really need to invest in our future, to invest in the future of our city, and to save our teachers who we should love very, very much.

Thank you.

Thank you, Michelle.

Just reminder is state your name and address for the record before you uh have the floor.

Our next speaker is Patricia Olivier.

Patricia.

No me defense.

Muy buenas noches.

My name is Patricia Olivier, pertenezco Manos Unidas, Yuac, Abbe Fénix, Lit, different groups de la communidad Hispana.

Nosotros, yo tengo 19 años in New Britain.

Estoy muy agradecida con cada una de esas instituciones que me están enseñando English.

Ahora, lo que yo les estoy pidiendo, gracias.

Lo que yo vengo a communicarles a pedirles, is the queen traveling.

Yo siempre le digo a la maestra de mi hija.

Maestros, alumnos anders van a hacer el mejor trabajo.

Así, ustedes, concejales, todo el representant aquí y la que no está presente.

Craig me, que no hay dinero invertido si es in education.

Entre groups pequeños, los maestros van a poder dar more education and control on nuestros hijos.

Ayudemos a todos esos niños necessitados con necessidades especiales.

Ayudemos a la libreria, athone llevando a cabo para que todos los jóvenes sobresalgan.

Creanme, no soy mayor y ya estamos un paso más afuera.

But esos jóvenes de las universidades son los que van a ser ingrandes and New Britan salga por su education, porque no se habla de vandalismo ni de drogadiction, que se habla new britaan is educated y va a dar employers, pero necessitamos el apoyo de ustedes.

Ese dinero no lo piensen.

Education is lo que va a nuestras communidades.

Incluso ahora you stopping preoccupied because my graduate of the high school enseñan Spanyol.

I want to recognize that all the woman Ortiz Luna has joined us for the rest of the hearing.

Maria.

Since I was born, I always been in special education.

Gladly, thank you for all my help that I received throughout the all years and all that.

Now for next year for my senior year.

This year I was able to achieve to be the vice president for Lion Hurricanes, and next year they promoted me for being the president for Lion Hurricanes.

So I'm glad you're able to promote that.

But the only thing is that we are scared of for the fundings.

Also, for any other clubs.

Also for me with Matt Marquez for advising.

It was really fun.

I enjoyed it.

Also, but mostly it's for like the schools, the academies.

All the education.

Next year I'm also trying to be, I'm trying to find for a teacher.

I'm trying to be a teacher.

When I when I'm a teacher, would I be able to apply to the brain public to the public district?

Would it be funds for a for a teacher position anymore?

Especially for the language department now.

This last year I failed my Apple test by one point on the writing part.

This year I'm retaking it.

This week I'm supposed to be taking it throughout the whole entire week.

But the supposedly for next year by the funds turns out that taken away.

But the thing is that I want for the next year's students and also for these little kids that are right behind me.

Also to have the position for the Apple test, because the Apple test is not just any type of Apple test.

Just a stamp that says, Oh, she's bilingual or trilingual.

That knows multiple languages.

Is a it's a stamp that shows that they're actually able to cable to do something that not everybody's able to do.

Thank you.

Patricia Ross?

No, she has to leave.

Thank you, uh Patricia Maria for speaking.

Mr.

Chairman, just before we continue this, can we take like a two-minute, three minute recess just for a bathroom break?

Um standard research for three minutes.

Like our clock says there.

Thank you.

And everybody can use the bathroom if you need to, by the way.

I do not have to have something back that way.

All right, that's a very good one.

Yeah, I would I would start with that.

Okay, so once everybody wear it, you would like to do that.

No way.

The next speaker on the list is a todos.

Yo estoy representando a Mayra Faconda.

Para mí lo más importante is la educación.

Una educación de calidad.

Para que mañana tengamos líderes y personas con los fundos para la educación.

Disculpen.

Vamos a tener aulas abor abarrotadas.

Gracias.

Thank you, Mayra.

Next name on the list is uh Perla Vanessa Cardoso.

Hello.

Oh, welcome.

Hello.

Buenas noches con todos.

Me llamo Perla Vanessa Cardoso.

I've been in Nubritan por 26 años.

So mamma de una niña de quatro años que entrará atrás in Otoño.

Y soy part de Manos Unidas, un group que aboga por la comunidad immigrante de Nubritan.

No encontraba las palabras para decir esta noche, pero sé que no me puedo permanentar callada.

Hoy es martes, que significa que hoy tocó trabajar in Wolvercross High School in New Haven.

Y ser accompanied al viaje a la scuola de adultos in New Haven.

También in construction services al cliente y certificados de serve safe.

Tenía una cocina in su primer piecina y como debe ser su cocina cuando sacan su permiso de serve safe.

Salid de ahí, entrar my telephone y veo que cada partido has un show.

Vivienda asequible.

Apoyo para padres inmigrantes.

Por ejemplo, esta noche no hay traductores in español.

Hay familias que hablen español.

Y queremos estar aquí.

Deportes gratuitos.

Y también que ustedes como concejal de la ciudad de Nubritan abogen por nosotros para que para que el seguro médico sea más sective.

Manten abierto el friendship center y abrir otro.

Make sure the red.

Thank you.

Sorry.

Umten abierto a friendship center y abrir otro.

Thank you, Paula.

Our next speaker is Amy Anderson.

Amy.

Good evening, members of the Common Council.

My name is Amy Anderson.

I live at 24 High Tower Road in Southington.

I am the district coordinator of PK5 curriculum here in New Britain and a proud 31-year veteran of our school district.

I am here tonight to speak on the most critical investment our city makes, the education of our children.

We are at a crossroads.

Any budget put forward isn't just a spreadsheet of numbers.

It is a statement of our values.

What do we value?

If we say we value educating our city's children, we must put forth a budget that reflects the ability to do that well.

To put it plainly, failing to provide the requested funding for our schools will necessitate deep cuts to the very people who make learning possible.

It is the direct result of having teachers work side by side with our instructional coaches, honing their craft to ensure they provide high quality instruction, analyzing data to catch children who are falling behind before it's too late, and then responding to this data to increase student outcomes.

The coach-teacher partnership has directly led to the green shoots of academic growth we are seeing today.

If you look at our recent performance metrics, you will see the beginnings of a success story.

One that our community will pay back for decades in the form of lower graduation rates and a less prepared workforce.

Let's choose to be the city that invests in its green shoots so that every child in our community has the chance to bloom.

Thank you.

Thank you, Amy.

Our next speaker is Amanda Alvarado.

Amanda.

That'd be followed by Olivia Escobales and Sal Escabales.

Hello, my name is Amanda Alvarado.

I live at uh 349 Oak Street.

Uh before I start, I want to say a quick thank you to my son for his patience today.

Uh he's had a long day.

Um his name is Anthony.

Um, he is a child who is smart and funny.

Um, he has learned his love of coding in STEAM classes at Holmes Elementary School.

I am one of the only members of my family with a higher education that I completed as a single mother, working full time to show my son the strength of education in our lives.

I am here tonight to ask you to fund our schools, not because of budget lines on a spreadsheet, but because I am the lived reality of a no vote.

I was raised in East Harlem, where we had 35, 36 kids in a classroom.

We shared textbooks that were falling apart, and there were no services for kids who struggled.

This wasn't a budget gap.

That was a broken promise to our children.

I see New Britain is standing on that same cliff today.

We are looking at a net cut when you factor in the loss of grants, and you are about to tell staff members, including teachers, liaisons, and nurses, that they are on the chopping block.

You are talking about closing, potentially closing schools and taking away sports and arts vital to our communities.

And here's what keeps me up at night.

The Federal Department of Education is being gutted.

There is no cavalry coming for us here in New Britain.

We are the Calvary, our safety net is gone.

That means our local schools are no longer just schools for so many children in New Britain.

This these buildings are the catcher's nets for abuse and neglect.

Sometimes this is the only place a child gets a hot meal all day or a place to get checked when they are ill.

If we cut staff and close schools, who catches these children?

Who will feed them?

I know what happens next.

Without good teachers, decent class sizes and technology, classes swell.

The kids who need help will fall through the cracks, and the parents who can't afford to leave, they will.

Research shows that every dollar we invest in schools returns two dollars in the future to our city.

But I am not here for the return of investment.

I'm here because my child deserves the decent classes that I myself never had, and because every child in this district deserves to be to be safe, seen, and fed.

So please do not do to New Britain what we have seen across inner cities everywhere.

Please increase the funding to our schools.

Thank you and have a good night.

Thank you, Amanda, and to your son for being here too.

Olivia Escobales.

Olivia Escobales, 2399 Stanley Street.

So good any good evening, everyone.

My name's Olivia Escobales.

I'm a junior at New Brand High School.

And earlier this year, I have already spoken at the state capitol about fully funding education, the ECS formula, as we know.

And well, because when we don't, we don't just cut budgets, we're cutting futures.

And tonight, this conversation is happening here at home, and it just feels all the more important.

The people who are making the decisions right now know our schools and understand what's at stake.

We've heard about numbers, deficits, and funding gaps.

But as students, we don't experience numbers.

We experience losing teachers, we experience losing programs, and we experience classrooms that feel less supported and less stable.

We already worry about student engagement and mental health, and this is only gonna make it worse taking away support systems and safe places for them.

When you talk about 49 non-tenured teachers, we don't hear statistics, we see faces.

We see the teacher who stayed after school to help us pass.

We see the coach who gave students a reason to show up, the counselor who made school feel like a place we actually belonged.

So calling pushback scarce tactics doesn't make it less real for us students.

This is our everyday reality.

And our mayor has said that accountability should be fair and focused on improving schools, and I agree.

But fairness also means not placing the burden of financial decisions on students and educators.

Earlier this year, I asked the state to not shortchange our future, and now tonight I'm asking the city to do the same thing.

Every leader in this room is a product of a public education system that once invested and believed in them, and now is the question whether you're willing to do the same thing and invest in us.

Because this decision is bigger than a budget.

You are deciding what kind of future this city is willing to fund.

And as a student of this district, I am asking you to choose us.

Thank you.

Thank you, Olivia.

Mr.

Escobales.

I'm Mr.

Escobales, and I do not take any responsibility for that speech.

It's also my pleasure to inform you that during these difficult times, you will not be charged for this double feature.

Okay.

All right, let's do this quick.

I think she hit some of it.

So Sal Escobales, 2399 Stanley Street, former teacher, former board member, former union president, current admin, and champion for all the kids, their families, and all that good stuff, right?

Until the day I die.

As an admin, I see every single day what many of our students carry with them into our schools, and what that looks like sometimes is trauma, anxiety, learning challenges, economic instability.

I can name several others, right?

Across Connecticut, districts are dealing with the same financial challenges we are, increasing classes, reducing individualized support, eliminating sports, or making them pay to for play, right?

And limiting access to critical services, all to keep the spreadsheets in the black.

But I want to be clear about something.

This is just not about numbers on a spreadsheet.

This is about people, meaning the people that come to work every day and choose to serve our students and their families.

Previously I spoke about teachers.

Uh tonight, my sort of uh focuses on our support staff, to specifically two groups of people.

Um this is about the bilingual teaching assistants who help our multilingual students, multilingual students and their families navigate school systems, communicate with teachers, and feel a sense of belonging.

This is also about family school liaisons who serve as bridges and lifelines between home and school.

They are often the only consistent adults that connect families to resources, services, and opportunities.

Members of our family school liaisons at the high school in particular also serve on the juvenile review board and help our students via reconciliation, restoration, and showing them how to take responsibility for their actions.

So when we move these, remove these roles, we don't just cut positions, we cut access across uh, you know, we cut access across the district, we call we cut trust, and we cut opportunity.

And then you know, I don't know what I would do personally, me without Kevin and Missy at the high school, uh, because uh of the you know great importance that uh they have in terms of accessing our kids.

You know, at the risk of saying this out loud, though, there's another kind of risk that that sort of permeates, and that's the negative consequences of political disagreements.

I get it, we are a constitutional democracy, and I recognize that this back and forth comes with governance.

However, when decisions become divided, delayed, or driven by competing interests, the focus shifts away from students and on to conflict and slight, whether real or imagined.

We've all seen the you know social media.

That kind of fragmentation costs us precious time, clarity in the moment, and ultimately momentum.

Our students cannot afford for adults to be at odds when the stakes are this high.

What they need, what this moment demands is alignment, some grace, some urgency, and a shared commitment to solutions.

In a district like New Britain, diverse, beautiful, vibrant, and full of potential, these roles are not extras, they are absolutely essential.

When a bilingual staff member helps a parent understand their child's progress, that is engagement.

When family school liaisons connect with a struggling student to support them before they disengage from schooling altogether, that is prevention.

When a student feels seen, heard, and understood in New Britain, the good news is that it's all of us in this room at our very best.

A couple more seconds.

If we truly believe in equity and student access, then we must invest in the people who make those things possible.

Because at the end of our day, our budgets reflect our priorities.

And our students and the adults who support them must remain our top priority.

One sentence left.

Sorry.

Steady in their hearts and their minds as you do this work and navigate it.

I recognize it's difficult.

I recognize the time, I recognize the moment, but just please let's all just get together and solve this thing.

Appreciate you all.

Have a good night.

We gotta go.

We got homework.

Thank you, Mr.

Escobales.

Our next speaker is our next speaker is Lisa Grega, followed by Lily Stewart, followed by Courtney Mason, good evening, members of the town council.

First of all, what I have to say here is nothing to top what these gentlemen have said in the past to you.

Um they did an amazing job, and I'm very proud of you guys.

Um, thank you for the opportunity to speak to you tonight.

Uh, my name is Lisa Grega, 35 Audubon Street, New Britain, Connecticut, and I serve as the elect athletic director for our school district.

I'm also a proud graduate and former student athlete of New Burton High School.

I'm here to speak on behalf of our student athletes, our families, and our community regarding the proposed 200,000 reduction to athletics.

Well, I understand that this council does not dictate where the district cuts from, but without further funding for the school district, I want to be very clear about what this proposed funding reduction means.

At the middle school level, it would eliminate athletics entirely.

At the high school, it would require us to cut 100,000 from a program that is not only growing but thriving.

This year alone, 688 high school students are on our athletic rosters.

That is an increase of 245 student athletes from just one year ago.

At the middle school level, there are 925 student registrations for middle school sports.

That is not just a number, it is a clear indication of demand, engagement, and need.

These are not fringe programs, these are essential programs.

Athletics are often the reason students come to school, stay connected, and succeed academically.

They teach discipline, accountability, teamwork, leadership, and resilience.

Skills that extend far beyond the playing field.

For many of our students, athletics provide structure, mentorship, and a sense of belonging after school hours that cannot be replicated elsewhere.

Eliminating middle school sports removes a critical entry point.

It disrupts a developmental pipeline that prepares students for high school participation, not just athletically but socially and emotionally.

Without the foundation, participation at the high school level will decline, undoing the growth that we are currently seeing, and that growth matters.

An increase of 245 high school athletes in one year does not happen by accident.

It reflects intentional work by coaches, administrators, and the community to build inclusive, accessible programs.

It reflects students choosing to be involved in something positive.

A hundred thousand dollar deduction from the high school program will force reductions of freshman programs, limitations on transportation, equipment, and safety measures.

These are not abstract cuts.

These directly impact our students.

This is about keeping students engaged in school, about providing a safe, structured environment after the school day ends, and it's about equity, ensuring all students, regardless of financial means, have access to opportunities.

And this is about community pride.

Just a few weeks ago, our cheer team was invited here by this council and the mayor to be recognized for winning a state championship.

Our teams represent our city, they bring families together, they create positive visibility and shared identity.

When we invest in athletics, we invest in the overall health of our community.

Tonight I'm asking for your support.

Support for funding that preserves middle school athletics, support for maintaining a strong and sustainable high school program, and support for the hundreds of students who rely on opportunities every single day.

We are not asking for extras, we are asking to protect something that is already making a measurable and meaningful impact.

Thank you for your time and consideration and commitment to our students.

Thank you, Lisa.

Lily Stewart Good evening, Council Members.

My name is Lily Stewart, 272 Main Street.

I am the district language arts coordinator, grades pre-K through 12.

I have been in this role under the leadership of Dr.

Gasper for three years.

I am currently not a resident of New Britain, but in the past I have lived in New Britain as recently as 2015 through 2018 at 26 Arlington Street.

New Britain reminds me of my roots in the Bronx.

It's very familiar to me.

I was hired to implement the state-approved reading program called ARC, American Reading Corps.

In these three years, our work has been highlighted by executives at ARC, the State Department of Education, and State Representatives.

They are impressed by the high quality professional learning that my team of instructional coaches provides in a district of this size.

They are interested in learning about the support coaches provide to teachers on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.

We make it look easy, but it is big work.

Beyond the awesome program implementation, we have improved outcomes for students.

Our DIBLES data demonstrates promising growth.

The green shoots are sprouting.

The students, students that entered in kindergarten at 19% proficient were 46% proficient in January.

This is the middle of the year.

We're seeing gains from our students.

Imagine the gains they will show on the spring test.

Similarly, grade one increased student proficiency from 37% to 46% by January.

Using data gives teachers the insight they need to provide targeted supports to our students.

Our cohort data is showing that our youngest students are growing year over year.

Our smarter balanced reading data tells us that students become more and more proficient in grades three through five, then face a cliff in grade six where there is a decline.

We've been planning around middle school success to bridge that gap by building systems of intervention and enrichment.

Teacher planning time is now supported by instructional coaches and building administrators and or district coordinators like myself.

To date, we have supported 176 teacher planning meetings across the three middle schools, DLoreto, Pulaski, and Slade.

High quality instruction matters.

I'm humbled by the work we have done in these past three years.

This may not be the stories you are hearing, but I would like to invite you in to see our classrooms.

Dr.

Gaspar and I would be glad to host you on any day.

While I understand these are difficult times, I need the city and this council to respect the work educators in New Britain have done.

We want our students to be college, career, and future ready.

That cannot happen if classes, class sizes are maxed out, teachers lose their jobs, attendance is not supported, teachers are not invested in with coaching and training, and program materials are not purchased.

I want you to increase education funding because it is the only way our children can be successful.

As this cohort of students progresses through the grades, you will see how the investment will pay dividends.

It's already happening.

I have been committed to New Britain students for three years.

We need you to be as committed to our students and be committed to turning things around in New Britain.

Education is not optional.

Invest in our students.

Thank you.

And Courtney.

Yes.

Go ahead, please.

My name's Courtney Mason.

I live at 17 Cambridge Drive in Cromwell.

Good evening, members of Common Council.

My name is Courtney Mason, and I'm here to pull back the curtain on instructional coaching.

Actually, it looks like in our schools.

Often people hear the word coach and think of sports, but in our district, ELA and math coaches are the engines behind the both the teachers' growth and the students' literacy.

Every week during essential collaborations, we are on the ground providing professional development that is not just theoretical.

It is tailored to be specific, sorry, needs of our district grade levels.

But the work goes far deeper than a group of meetings.

This year alone, I personally coached nine teachers in my building across second, third, fourth, and fifth grade.

Beyond the fact that the raw data provides alone, no roadmap for instruction.

The state mandates a formal multi-tiered system of supports called MTSS for our schools.

Our classrooms are dynamic environments defined by diverse learning profiles.

A third grade roster often represents a five-year span of reading proficiency.

This MTSS framework is our primary vehicle to identify and supporting students.

These students ensuring they receive tier two and tier three interventions before moving towards special education testing.

When mid-year DIBLE data assessments indicate a regression in the foundational coding and fluency, I move beyond reporting to active partnership by planning, co-teaching, providing immediate actionable feedback.

I empower our educators to pivot in real time.

Ensuring that most students reach grade level benchmark and exit the process process process successfully.

By exhaustingly utilizing these tiers of systems, we ensure special education resources remain preserved for those students who are the highest level of intensive need.

Beyond supporting teachers, I'm directly in the trenches with our students.

Four times a week, I pull three intervention groups for students who are struggling to find their footing in reading.

We work on the mechanics of literacy.

When standard two tier two interventions aren't enough, I lead two additional groups using SPIRE, a specialized tier three program.

These are for students where we've said the usual isn't working.

We need to try something new.

We provide that something, we provide that something else every single day.

Finally, coaching is a leadership role.

I meet with my administrators and the math coach and steer the ship from coordinating state testing to providing training to keep our building compliant and high performing.

We ensure the environment is ready for learning.

We aren't just extra resources.

We are the support system that ensures our teachers can teach and our students can read.

Thank you for your time and your continued support for these issues that we're having with budgets.

Thank you.

Thank you, Courtney.

Thanks for speaking, Courtney.

Our next speaker is Michelle Cushman.

Michelle.

Good evening, members of the council and community.

My name is Michelle Gaida Cushman, former resident and current employee of the New Britain Public Schools.

I currently reside at 66 Desorbo Drive in Southington.

As the Holmes assistant principal in the very district that raised me, this is more than a professional responsibility.

It is personal.

I was born and raised in New Britain.

I attended New Britain public schools from kindergarten through graduation.

I can still name every classroom I sat in, every teacher who challenged me, every secretary who greeted me, and every principal who set the tone for what a school should be.

Those experiences didn't just educate me.

They shaped me.

They inspired my dream to become an educator and instilled in me the deep sense of pride and responsibility to give back.

I was a proud member of the New Britain High School community, performing in ColorGu, serving as captain of the K Nets, contributing to stage crew, and participating in on stage productions.

I was connected to my peers, to my teachers, and to my city.

That connection is what made the difference.

Since then, I've served in countless students and families, worked alongside some of the most dedicated educators, expanding my impact as a district-wide instructional coach, and now completing my sixth year as an elementary school assistant principal.

I remain committed to the same mission to provide our students the opportunities they deserve.

What makes New Britain special is that my story is not unique.

Many of my colleagues are also graduates of this district.

We are the product of this system, and we have chosen to come back to reinvest, to rebuild, and to continue the legacy of those who gave so much to us.

That kind of commitment cannot be measured, but it must be supported.

The relationships built in our schools last a lifetime.

Some of my closest friends today are the same people I sat next to in Mrs.

Russell's kindergarten class at Lincoln School 45 years ago.

The strongest, most enduring connections in my life were formed right here, not later in college or beyond, but in the classrooms of the New Burton public schools.

That is the power of a well-supported public education system.

Our students today deserve the same opportunity.

We are seeing growth, we are doing the work, but progress is fragile without sustained and adequate funding.

I urge both the city and state leaders to act responsibly and collaboratively and fully funding education.

This is not an expense, it's an investment in the future of our community.

When we underfund schools, we don't just limit resources, we limit potential.

Collaboration is at the heart of our work.

Strong partnerships amongst family educators, local organizations, and community leaders are essential to student success.

We see it here tonight.

New Britain invested in me.

It is time to ensure we continue investing in every child who walks through our doors.

Thank you, Michelle.

Next speaker is uh Julia Ainsley.

Julia, good evening.

My name is Julia Ainsley.

I reside at 327 Steele Street.

I'm a lifelong resident of New Britain with three children in our district.

My son Rain is nine years old in Mr.

Martin's class at Holmes Elementary School.

My son Roman is six years old in Miss Kakamo's class in the key program at Gaffney Elementary School.

And my daughter Rosalia is four years old in Miss Meanie's class at Roosevelt Early Learning Center.

I've already stood here and explain what those cuts mean for families like mine.

So tonight I'm not here to repeat myself.

I'm here because despite everything you've heard, despite the warnings, despite the data, despite the voices of parents and educators, you are considering decisions that you know will cause harm.

Let's call this what it is.

It's a choice.

A choice to cut staff, a choice to reduce support, a choice to move forward even after being told the consequences will be catastrophic.

When a district says it needs nearly 19 million just to stay where it is, and we respond by cutting over a million, that is not budgeting.

That is forcing failure.

So I have to ask if you have been told that this will cause real harm, why are we still considering it?

Why are we accepting outcomes that we already know will hurt children?

Because let's stop pretending this is uncertain.

This is not a maybe.

Fewer teachers means less support.

Less support means less safety.

Less safety means children fall through the cracks.

This is not speculation.

This is reality.

And once the damage is done, you don't just reverse it in the next year.

You don't get those years back.

This is not about balancing a budget.

This is about accountability.

Because if you move forward with cuts of this magnitude, you are choosing to prioritize a number over a child.

You are choosing to accept harm that could have been prevented.

So then tonight the question is not what will happen.

The question is, are you willing to be responsible for it?

Because the decision will not stay in this room.

It will show up in classrooms, in homes, and in the lives of children across our city.

And you will have to own the consequences of this decision.

So I'm asking you very directly.

I do not approve or do not approve cuts that you already know will damage this district.

Do not accept a plan that your own leadership has called catastrophic, and do not make decisions that you would never accept for your own children.

Because tonight you are not just voting on the budget.

Thank you.

Thank you, Julia.

Mr.

Fox Lee, followed by Stephanie Lee.

Good to see you again, Mr.

Lee.

Thank you.

Hello, members of the Common Council.

My name is Fox Lee.

I live at 75 10acre Road, and I am 10 years old, and I am in the fourth grade at Lincoln Elementary School.

I'm here tonight to ask for your support for Lincoln.

I mean for New Britain schools.

I was here a few weeks ago, and you all told me that I was brave for standing up in front of the crowds.

And I am back because this budget has gotten a lot worth, and I need you to be brave now.

We are not asking for new state-of-the-art laptops or a new shiny school.

We are asking for the basics like paraeducators.

That's not only affects them, but also affects us.

I should be in bed right now or but no, I'm here because this is my future and it's in your hands.

Thank you for your time.

Please keep my words in mind.

Stephanie the mom.

Yes.

Very proud, Mom.

Thank you.

Good evening, Common Council.

My name is Stephanie Lee.

I live at 75 10 Acre Road here in New Britain.

I come to you tonight on behalf of the parents and children seeking resolution on the school budget dilemma.

I'm truly concerned about the long-term ability for my children, for our children, to have a meaningful education and become productive members of this community.

My husband and I moved to New Britain eight years ago buying a house in the West E.

We were excited at the thought of raising children in a city known for its diversity and for having a strong sense of community.

We didn't move here blind to the issues surrounding the school system.

We were aware that it was ranked among the lowest in Connecticut, and yet we were still willing to make the investment.

And when you look at the campaign websites for current and prospective elected leaders, there's lots of talk about how important education is.

Yet at the end of the day, they're not putting our money where their mouth is.

I'm a product of public education here in Connecticut.

I come from a working class family.

Um, and I was the first person in my family to go to college, then get a master's, then get a doctorate, all on the basis of a strong public education.

I know many New Britain families who rely on this type of education to set their children up for an equitable future amongst their peers.

This budget dilemma impacts these families the most.

We understand that the city budget is tight, but money is tight for all of us, and our children shouldn't suffer because of it.

I recognize Mayor Sanchez's proposed budget includes a $1 million increase to the city's minimum budget requirement for education, which I appreciate and thank him for.

However, there is still a decrease in the overall amount of money New Britain is giving to schools compared to prior years.

This is not the year to suddenly make this change and decide that these extra one-time infusions, grants, and special contributions are not appropriate.

I understand that the MBR increase is a positive step.

However, this proposed budget is the first notable action in his first term as mayor, and this will not be remembered well.

The recent back and forth being reported on in the news between the mayor's office, state delegation, and the superintendent is frankly embarrassing.

The grandstanding and political games need to stop.

We're at the 11th hour.

You can ask any family who is tightly balancing a budget.

You don't wait until the night before a bill is due to figure out how you're going to pay for it.

Education is the basis for everything.

In 20 years, we will see the true cost of not investing in education when we do not have community members who are able to take the reins and move our city forward.

The education system and our current budget fiasco is a result of a systemic failure.

But I remind you, you are part of that system, and you have to own that failure.

I implore you to find a way to help New Britain schools close this funding gap in the short term and continue to work on long-term solutions.

Thank you for your time.

Our next speaker is Gina Cavallo, followed by Brian Chong.

Okay.

Hi, good evening.

Before I start, I just can't believe my little friend over there that's one of my proud students at Leak at School.

So I'm a little teary eye because you hit my core, and that's why I do the work I do.

My name is Gina Cavallo.

I live at 155 Redstone Hill in Bristol.

And I just want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak and for all that you do for our city and our students.

So thank you.

It is deeply disheartening and frankly unacceptable what is happening in New Britain regarding the education budget.

My roots in New Britain run deep.

My family immigrated here from Italy.

I was born here, raised here, running the streets of Hale Lane and Beldridge Road, and my father dedicated over 40 years to serving public education in the city.

From the time I was five years old, I dreamed of becoming a principal, not just a principal, but a principal in New Britain.

In 2019, that dream became a reality when I was given the honor of leading Lincoln Elementary School.

This is not just where I work, this is where I belong.

My love for this city and education was shaped in my dad's classroom through the stories of his colleagues and through the mentors like Mr.

Sultis at Smith School.

Today I'm a proud New Britain administrator, surrounded by educators and staff who show up every single day for our students and our families.

And let me be clear, our students are thriving because of that commitment.

In the past seven years, and especially in the last three years, under our current leadership of Dr.

Gasper and his team, we have seen real growth.

At Lincoln School alone, our achievement in literacy and math has increased 50% on state assessments.

Our school climate has improved.

Students want to be in school.

They are learning, growing, and succeeding.

But all of that progress is now at risk.

Without proper funding from the city, we will not have the people, the resources necessary to continue this work.

And when school lose resources, children lose opportunities.

This is not about numbers on a spreadsheet.

It is about real children in our classroom who deepen us to get this right.

Families who trust us with their children.

Right now we are facing the loss of talented, dedicated educators, many of them early in their careers, many who came to New Britain because they believe they could make a difference.

We are sending a message that they're working and more importantly, our children are not worth that investment.

That is unacceptable.

We are also discouraging the next generation from entering this profession.

And this hits me home personally.

My daughter recently told me that she wants to be an educator, following in the footsteps of her grandfather and me.

She volunteers at Lincoln School and has fallen in love with our students, our staff in the city.

But what message are we sending her and others like her if we fail to fund our schools?

If we do not act, the impact will be catastrophic.

I strongly support my superintendent, the proposed budget, and the urgent request for both city and state leaders to fully fund education, not only in New Britain, not only in our state, but especially in New Britain.

Our students deserve schools that are fully staffed, fully resourced, and fully supported.

We cannot claim to prioritize children while actively taking away what they need to succeed.

Our students must remain at the center of every decision we make because right now they need us more than ever.

Please do write.

Thank you.

Thank you, Gina.

Brian Good evening, Mr.

Chair.

My name is Brian Chong, and I live at 407 Monroe Street.

I'm an organizer and a union representative for Teamsters Local 671, representing the over 200 school bus drivers and monitors serving New Britain schools.

You heard from my colleague, business agent Eric Downer tonight described earlier about what these cuts mean for our members.

To be specific, we're talking about pre-K routes being eliminated.

Walking zone transportation ended immediately, and over 1.1 million dollars in bus service deprived from families, as well as the Teamster livelihoods that go with it.

My members will be here tonight, but they need to be up before dawn tomorrow running these routes before they disappear.

Mr.

Chair, our union has seen this pattern before, and it doesn't end well for the people at the bottom of it.

The city and the state blame each other.

The mayor and the superintendent blame each other.

Everyone has a statement while nobody has a solution.

Our union has been through enough contract fights to know what that looks like.

While the adults fight, the kids lose their school, the teachers, the nurses, and their buses.

The teams just are not here to take sides in anyone's internal dispute.

We are here because while officials fight, our members and their families are the ones paying the price.

Teachers and nurses, parents and students are the ones paying the price.

And we, the Teamsters, stand with every single one of them in this fight to fund our schools.

Mr.

Chair, tonight I came here directly from a meeting in Meriden of Teamsters, teachers, parents, and students, just like the ones who have been in this room tonight, who have been fighting like hell for the past three months to close their budget gap and to prevent a school from closing.

600 Meriden high school students walked out of class last week.

These weren't kids skipping class.

These were kids who understood what was at stake and they acted like it because they had watched us, the Teamsters, do the same thing three years before when Meredith school bus drivers went on strike in 2023 for a living wage.

The fact is, just 20 minutes away from here, the people of Meriden stood up.

They refused to let anyone off the hook.

They demanded their city councilors get in the faces of their state delegation and demand that the schools get funded, and they refuse to let them off the hook.

And tonight, at that meeting that I came from, the people of Meriden found out that they had won the funding and closed that gap.

That pressure moved money and a whole school got saved.

This room deserved to know that 20 minutes away from here, schools got funded.

As my colleague mentioned earlier, the teams just understand that the city can only give so much money when the state funding formula has been frozen since 2013.

We have spoken at the Capitol, and we are writing our state legislators.

But Mr.

Chair, this council has power.

Putting more money into this budget is just the beginning.

We want to see you stand up and demand that our state delegation deliver, just as Meridens did before the session closes on May 6th.

You can meet the moment that teachers, parents, students, and the teamsters are making here tonight.

Thank you.

Sylvia.

Thank you, members of New Britain Common Council.

I know it is very late, and I have a lot of administrators behind me who are thinking about how they're gonna make their schools run tomorrow.

So my name is Sylvia Mayamoline.

I live in Hartford on Westerly Terrace, but my first apartment was here in New Britain back in 1993.

And I was a canvaser and a community organizer on Art Street and Oak Street.

So seeing the civic engagement that has happened tonight and last week is a testament to what New Britain means to many families and many employees here.

So I manage the multilingual department, and I have the pleasure of overseeing the bilingual program and ESL programming and dosenuno program and sheltered instruction in world languages throughout all of our schools.

What is clear to me tonight is the investment that our immigrant and Latino parents have by coming and stepping up here and speaking to them, speaking to you in their native language and what it means to them to be in this community.

So we as an urban district have a dynamic and complex situation, and we all are committed to that type of work together, which is why we are here tonight to advocate for the status quo budget.

One of the things that we have at stake here of losing are the expertise and relationships that our administrators have built with their new teachers and their instructional coaches and their bilingual teaching assistants.

These are people that dedicate their work every day to those students and to colleagues.

And that mentorship and that team building that happens at the schools is something you cannot replace.

Oftentimes, oftentimes administrators are faced with having to retrain teachers, build that cultural competence, build those relationships and that trust with parents and students.

And so when they have to repeatedly do that year after year, they they lose their coherence and their ability to build that culture and climate of their schools.

Many of the principals have spoken about their success with building those relationships and with having that achievement grow and closing the achievement gap.

What I'm here imploring is for us to maintain our status quo budget so that we do not lose those valuable teachers, many of whom were in fact former students of mine from DiLoreto who have become teachers.

The liaisons that have made connections with families and also our bilingual teaching assistants, many of whom are parents of students in our system.

So we want to be able to be fiscally responsible but maintain those relationships so our school administrators would have to continue to rebuild those relationships, and that progress has already been noted in our elementary schools, middle schools, and in our high schools.

So I ask that you please find the value in what you've seen tonight with our civic engagement and understand that what you've already done for New Britain schools has to maintain that budget and improve all of our achievement thus forward.

So please do support our superintendent.

Thank you.

Thank you, Sylvia.

Our next speaker is Jennifer Wright, followed by Tim Mayo.

Good evening, members of the Common Council.

My name is Jen Wright, and I'm the proud assistant principal at Smalley Elementary School, and I've been a New Britain educator for the past 22 years.

Our schools are the heartbeat of this community.

They're hubs of stability, safety, and opportunity.

And today I'm here to advocate, like everyone else, for an increase in funding, not just as a line item in a budget, but as a vital investment in the people who keep those hearts beating.

The reality of urban and urban educator's role extends far beyond the classroom in the unseen work done at the schools.

They spend their own money buying winter hats and coats for students who might not have them.

And they sponsor students to attend field trips.

I mean, if if you haven't been on a hike with a hundred fifth graders through Sessions Woods and watched them stand in the middle of three ecosystems, you're missing out.

And in just a couple of weeks, we my colleagues and I will be watching some of our students in third grade see the ocean for the first time as they visit Hamm and Asset.

Our teachers are investing in those opportunities for students to make their learning pop off the page.

That's something that you might not, you might not know about the people that work in this district.

As administrators, we aren't just instructional leaders, but we're crisis coordinators and community liaisons.

We spend our unseen hours navigating complex social services to ensure our families have what they need to survive so their children can thrive.

If a parent shows up at school with their toddler in one hand and a duffel bag in the other, we make sure that that family can find the resources that they need so that they can be safe.

Our support staff, the social workers, family school liaisons, nurses, custodian secretaries, and they're they're the glue of our schools.

They're the ones that notice the quiet student who hasn't eaten if they come in late.

They they fix what's broken in the building.

They act as an emotional bridge between home and the classroom, and they're right in the front office.

This unseen work on top of our regular jobs is exhausting.

Uh, and under the proposed cuts, we'll be asking our staff to perform miracles with fewer resources.

Increased funding isn't just about new textbooks and Chromebooks, it's about adequate staffing.

And in an urban district, this isn't a luxury, it's a matter of safety and survival.

Smalley has one social worker, and we have nearly 600 students.

She is stretched so thin that it might become impossible to maintain that unseen work that she does, connecting family with the essential community resources that they need.

It's about mental health resources, addressing the unique trauma many of our students carry into the classroom with them.

And it's about wraparound services, funding programs that happen before school starts and after school ends, that keeps our kids engaged and safe and coming to school, sports, music, and clubs.

Our staff shows up for the city students and their families every single day, often reaching into their own pockets and giving their own time to fill gaps.

And we do it so that every June we can smile with pride and tear up a little bit as we watch New Britain High School graduates walk across the stage and think that was a student in my first grade classroom and look where they are now.

It's time the city shows up for the schools.

If not you, then who thank you.

Tim Mayor.

Tim.

Good evening, everybody.

Um Tim Maya, um, 50 Overhill Avenue.

Um I got no speech.

I'm a passionate dude.

Sorry, I'm not I might not be the most professional now.

I'm gonna try to keep my composure, right?

Um one word, man, to describe.

I'm I'm a family school liaison, just to put that out there, right?

Um, one word to really describe, I think our position, impact.

Make a lot of impact on these uh kids' lives, families' lives.

Um I do a lot of the crunching the numbers for uh date uh chronic asymptism data in the district, right?

So I know I know ex I know the numbers more than anybody.

I promise you that.

And um looking at the numbers currently, we are at 30% chronic ascenteism.

That means that 30% of our students are missing 10% of the school year.

And that's right now, right?

Um uh not a good number.

Um and uh, you know, this position pretty much began with uh my brother, um, my best friend, our beloved Dr.

Hargraves.

He was pretty much the original family school liaison, right?

And that really opened the doors for this position.

He was able to move on and get a job with the city, and I was blessed to take over his position, and I took it over with great pride.

Um the fact that I'll tell you what, the best thing that happens to this position was the fact that I was not the only one anymore, right?

We had it up getting a one for every school, and seeing what it was when it was just me, so what it came out to be when you know every school had a family school liaison.

Um the impact was amazing.

It was like no other.

I couldn't I couldn't believe myself.

Um you talk about taking us out of these buildings.

It's you're you're pretty much saying to me that you're pretty much putting a middle finger up to 30% of our students.

You're right, but minimum.

It's it's uh I'm I'm praying that y'all figure it out on your line.

Fell me.

I what I do is I crunch data numbers for chronic absentees.

Um I don't know the logistics that y'all put the numbers that y'all got to crunch, but I'm praying y'all figure out how to crunch them numbers to keep us in the budget because um I know for a fact that myself and the guys around me, uh members of the council that uh that I know as well.

Um they know we we we make a huge impact on um on the city.

I take pride in the city.

I'm born and raised from the city, grew up in the city, graduated from the city.

I don't want to leave the city.

I'm not worried about me losing my job.

I'll find another job, probably with more money, but it will not fulfill my purpose, and that's why I want to stay in this city.

So please I hope y'all figure it out.

Thank you.

Thank you, Tim.

The last speaker on the list I have is Patrick Thompson.

Good evening, counsel.

I won't take up too much time.

My name is Patrick Thompson.

Uh 241 High Street is my address where I live.

And I just want to say I thank you guys for taking the time out and hearing everyone out, all these wonderful professionals who keep our city running.

This is, as you all are well aware, these are the number one representatives of our city to our to the regular uh public citizens.

They are the first faces that most people recognize as engaged members that we are we pay and provide to our city as a right as public education.

And as is the world we see around us getting deteriorating more and more in this country with federal funding getting stricter and cutting more and more.

We need to pick up the slack.

Um, I'm not blaming the council here before because I do know that it is a complicated, stressful matter of budgeting across the state.

Um, but we need to do whatever it takes.

Uh whatever reserves, whatever whatever funding we can find, provide whatever services that is not as essential, such as the increase to policing, we need to cut to provide it for our educators because these are the frontline uh people who keep our city running, and without them, our city will suffer, and we'll have a generation that will vote for the administration we have today.

So I urge you please put as much funding, reserve funding, reserve budget into our funding for education.

Uh, and that is all.

Thank you.

Thank you, Patrick.

So the names I have on the list.

Um, does anybody else wish to speak?

Anybody?

You, sir.

And then about me.

I'm sure you did.

Thanks for your patience.

Good evening.

My name is Jesse Pierce.

I'm member of Harford Parent University.

6,000 members strong.

I run the party, father's part of that.

I like to start off just leave a question with you guys, and I know answer.

How many of you can get your kids to go to grandma's house and spend time?

And I'm gonna keep going.

Just think about that.

Here's the way I see New Brayton High School.

The student athletes, the coaches are great.

They bring them in every day after school, work on their homework, try to get the grades up.

I just got an email the other day.

Every student athlete that I seen that was on a team, not calling no team, showed up with an F after the season.

So what are you playing with?

A D.

They accept that.

So what is what is the superintendent of schools doing?

What is the principal doing?

What is the um the kids?

Um, what is the lady's name there?

The athletic director.

Anybody on this panel know how many colleges in America that give kids scholarships from um division one all the way down to prep school?

One, two, three.

How many colleges in America that give scholarships to kids?

Nobody can answer that.

It's over 6,000.

The athletic director, the superintendent school, the principal are not doing their job.

These kids should have access to all that.

All you need to do is send 50 resumes to 50 different schools, and out of that 51, we'll say yes.

These kids have been turned out to the streets with no education.

Mom, daddy getting 12th grade, mom, dad's to go get a job.

You can't even fill out an application.

But you're in still the superintendent sitting there and get paid.

This the principal is getting paid.

They need to be held to a high standing.

They need to be asked to step down or resign.

We bring in people that get paid by performance.

Our kids are falling down a rabbit hole.

My son is a straight A student, just about.

I just moved into this district.

But you can believe my bottom down.

I'm on the mayor's team.

Those people I name must go.

Let's start there with the salaries.

If we're gonna start with salary, and now I go back to how many people can get their kids to go to grandma's house.

Not very many.

I don't want to go there.

I don't want to do that.

But guess what?

We got teachers here on longevity, sucking up the pay, sucking up the money, and can't get our kids' attention.

They need to step down or resign too and bring in some fresh young blood.

Instead of getting all this longevity pay and sitting there and can't get our kids' attention.

Kids don't want to deal with old people today.

Let's face it.

I'm old.

And if anybody on this panel would know, it's very hard to get the kids to go to grandma's house.

I'd spend time with grandma.

But you want your kid to go sit in a school with a teacher that's better than 60 years old, and expect for that teacher to get our kids' attention, it's not gonna work.

As I say, Fannie May, I went to a seminar of the Fannie May organization, also from China.

I was taught to recognize these things to go into the schools and recognize this.

So I came here before Kobe, I redacted the school in High Fred.

Parkville Elementary School.

We walked the teachers out, and guess what happened?

We couldn't replace them, so they put them into other schools, but we did get something done.

And my son stayed in the school district.

I'm going after the people I name, and anybody I think that's not giving our kids a chance to not fall in that rabbit hole.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Anybody else wish to speak?

Uh young man in the uh blue jacket first.

Uh sure.

Sorry.

Oh, good morning, uh councilman.

My name is Rafa Rodriguez.

I live in 871 Slater Road.

And I just want to say that it's real, it's very easy to look at a spreadsheet and decide what you could trim for a budget.

But it's a lot harder to hear the story of a teacher the per very soul behind teaching.

I'm talking about a third grade teacher at Gaffney.

Main this main miss Navarro.

This is her first year of teaching, and she's one of the most hardworking people I know.

She's the type of person to buy gifts for each one of her students, personalized, give them books that they could read and they could talk about with their friends.

I remember once she told me and another teacher a story about one of her child, one of her kids in their class, who he went through surgery, and the first thing that he did was record a video and send it straight to her straight to Miss Navarro.

And that just goes to show how much work and how much care she puts into the students and how much the students love.

And I just want to say that Miss Navarro is just one of many staff in this district that you guys are considering cutting.

That every student in the world deserves a teacher like Miss Navarro.

And by these budget cuts, it can lead to a student not having a Mr.

Thank you for listening and have a wonderful day.

Thank you.

You and then and you.

This young lady first, and then you.

Yeah.

Hello, my name is Guardi Sanchez, and I live at 100 Heart Street, which, if you don't know where that is, that's like right in front of the hospital.

Um I am New Britain, born and raised.

I went to HRA for preschool.

I went to um Vance and DiLoreto for elementary and middle school, and I went, I'm uh junior at New Britain High School right now.

I am also an ELD student in from kindergarten, first grade, second grade, and third grade.

I was in ELD classes.

I was someone who struggled with learning the English language, and if it wasn't for the support of my teachers, I wouldn't be here today.

I wouldn't be in the same situation I was in.

I remember all the teachers that have impacted me, some of them being Miss Garrett, Miss Leon, Miss Miano, Miss Fala, Miss Dairy, Miss Goodwin, Ms.

Ploor, Ms.

Perez, Mr.

Sheldon, Mr.

Drisco, Miss Bow, Mr.

Pulia, Mr.

D, Mr.

Viley, Mr.

Murphy, Mrs.

Jacobs, Ms.

Pigon, Mr.

Hemi, Miss Irizari, Mr.

Ramsey, Ms.

Marquez, Mr.

Ms.

Caris.

And I remember each one of my teachers because they impacted me that much.

They taught me what I needed to know, and they were the ones that pushed me.

I am National Honor Society eligible.

I am uh AP and honors student.

I am an advising, I am in marching band, I am involved in our school, and I'm trying my best.

And if it wasn't for those teachers, and if it wasn't for all the programs that were available to me, I wouldn't be here.

I wouldn't be in the same position.

And there's a lot of students who are in EOD classes, who are in classes that need extra help.

That if they get if these teachers get cut, if EOD teachers get cut, if bilingual teacher assistants get cut, they won't get the support they need to thrive in their future.

I want to become a human rights lawyer.

I want to be working out there with the people.

I want to fight for injustice.

And if it wasn't for the teachers, if it wasn't for the education I received and the support I received, I wouldn't be, I wouldn't be knowing what I wanted to do in my junior year of high school.

So I please want you to consider not cutting or trying to move around finances and trying to focus on our students because in a couple of years, our students will be the ones that are in your positions.

Our students will be making decisions about budgets, about what they're gonna, how they're gonna allocate money, and you need to focus on the future because our future is the most important thing.

You need to focus on the impact you'll make and on the impact you will make on the students that even spoke here today.

That's all.

Thank you.

Just name an address for the record when you called up you have three minutes.

Hello my name is Shahira Flores.

I'm a lifelong resident of New Britain.

I currently work for the New Britain district.

Sorry I'm a little nervous um and New Sorry um I was gonna actually have a whole speech written out and everything I but I'm just gonna speak from the heart.

So again lifelong resident of New Britain went to Smalley was in bilingual up until third grade I needed my my bilingual teachers to teach me um English and so they did I went to Roosevelt I went to um to New Britain high it's very important to give back to your community also because when I went sorry as um growing up I wanted to make a difference I'm a paraeducator currently right now and I want to give I wanted to give back to my community okay and I I work with kids that sometimes are nonverbal you have to be their interpreter sorry and currently right now costs are rising teachers are putting money to basically fund classroom um supplies because there is not a lot of um a lot of money and I'm sorry I'm a little nervous okay like I said but I love what I do and many of my my fellow colleagues love what they do we need to be able to fund the schools because our students are the future many of the people that are here are my fellow um classmates they bring they go back to the community I bought a house from my husband and we chose New Britain why because I loved it here I loved going to school here we wanted to give back why would my taxes go up if my the money I um if the money is not going where I want it to go it's education that is all but overall like I said we really need to give back to our community because they like the ladies that the girl said we are the the kids are the future they're gonna fill in your spots one day and the best thing for you to do is prepare them and if you we're already rising costs on groceries you can barely make make ends meet sometimes many of the people that I that I work with are are struggling.

Many of the kids that it come in we have to supply a lot of stuff for them kids are our future and we really need to um to put money where we need to just care about our kids thank you thank you for speaking uh gentlemen in the black shirt and then I saw a couple people in the back will get to you go ahead sir hello I am Julian Resto.

I am a new brand high school junior rising senior uh 34 Cedar Wood drive New Britain speak right in the mic so we can hear you can you hear me my name's Julian Resto I am a New Brent High junior and I'm rising senior 34 cedar wood drive um speaking on our sports and athletic programs these programs are not only a way for us as athletes to express ourselves but it's also a way that we can learn these disciplines that we have spoken about all night and it's important because especially me and I know many of my other classmates have also we have seen people who have come into these sports who needed help in certain aspects that they didn't that they weren't exactly getting and they were able to turn themselves around and able to actually get help for themselves in the aspects that they needed to so these sports programs are not only they aren't only sports they are a community they're a way that we are able to connect ourselves with people that um people that can give us aid in the aspects that we need it as high schoolers and with that can connect to our community and be able to be proud that we are from New Britain.

I wrestle for our New Britain high schools wrestling program and in every dual meet and every competition we went into this season we are considered the underdogs and by the end of the season we won our CCC West conference and our CCC tournament as a whole and I think that tells more about our pride of being in New Britain and that comes from our athletics and that comes from how our athletic programs are connected to not only our students but also to the families and it allows us to not only help each other but help ourselves if that makes any sense so thank you thank you gentlemen with the crutch and the tie dye shirt I used to have one by the way

And I think that tells more about our pride of being in New Britain, and that comes from our athletics, and that comes from how our athletic programs are connected to not only our students but also to the families, and it allows us to not only help each other but help ourselves.

If that makes any sense.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Uh gentlemen with the crutch and the tie-dye shirt.

I used to have one, by the way.

Just for the record, my name is Jasper Kulinski.

I live at 1615 Stanley Street here in New Britain.

Uh, good evening, members of the council, educators, parents, students, and community members.

I want to start off by thanking you all for giving me the opportunity to stand in front of you today and speak on this issue.

An issue that doesn't just affect our schools, but the future of our children and our community.

I'm a rising senior at Central Connecticut State University, studying secondary English education.

I have also been a resident of New Britain for a total of seven years now.

For the past year and a half, I've had the pleasure of being a student educator at Holmes Elementary School and Pulaski Middle School.

Over that year and a half, I have seen firsthand how the school district's budget directly impacts the children in the classroom.

To bring this issue more into the light, if you aren't unaware, New Britain has been one of the most poorly funded districts in the state for many years.

To put this in perspective, if you were to fund each of New Britain's children at the same rate as the median in Connecticut, the consolidated school district of New Britain would need an additional $56,364,015 just to meet that median.

The district requires an increase of $18.9 million just to avoid cuts to personnel and programs.

I want to ask you all to think about the implications this budget has and will have on our children and their education.

We are not asking for more money to spend.

We are asking to keep our schools staffed, our programs running, and our students educated and engaged.

And for personnel reductions, district wide, two school nurses, one campus safety officer, in elementary schools, 13 classroom teachers, 10 instructional coaches, eight steam teachers, and one principal.

In middle schools, eight classroom, six classroom teachers, four academic arts teachers, and one assistant principal.

And in high school, five non-instructional paraeducators, four and a half classroom teachers, and one ESL teacher.

Those are just a portion of the reductions that could happen in our schools.

This is unacceptable.

These cuts mean that I can no longer be in the classroom as much as I should be, helping out your children and our teachers.

It means I'm getting less experience as a future educator myself.

But this is not just about me.

As I end my speech, I ask all of you to give this some thought.

What message are we sending to our students and how we view their education?

What message are we sending to our educators and future educators about their value?

What message are we sending to parents who work and rely on sending their children to these programs?

What message are we sending to our community and other communities who look to us?

We all know New Britain is not perfect, but let us make a change and be proud of the city we call home.

Let's give our children the education that they deserve.

Thank you.

Thank you for speaking.

Gentlemen.

From Pulaski.

That's right.

Hello, thank you for allowing everyone to speak.

I know it's it's a very long night.

My name is Taylor Warinski, and I live at 143 Ford Road in Windsor, Connecticut.

However, as a teacher in my 12th year of service at Pulaski Middle School, I feel that I'm at least a part-time resident of New Britain.

My colleagues and the community members have spoken excellently about the strong negative impacts that the mayor's proposed budget would have on our schools.

And I agree with what has been said.

As I only have three minutes, I would like to spend my time talking about the larger political context in which this deficit is occurring.

I understand that what I'm going to say is beyond the scope of the common council of New Britain.

However, it is directly related to the crisis that's being faced.

The reality is that we are facing a problem which is totally artificial in nature.

The moment we are in is a result of political choices.

It was never inevitable, and the situation can be rectified when there is the political will to do so.

I'm not an economist, but I've been looking at some data.

According to the economic data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St.

Louis on their data platform called Fred, in quarter four of the year 2000, the total reported after tax corporate profits of American corporations were 533 billion dollars.

In quarter four of 2025, that amount is 3,792 billion of dollars.

That is over a that's a 611% increase in corporate profits from those between those two years.

Recently, the town changed its health insurance provider from Aetna to Cigna to save money.

Good move, because we need every dollar.

Who also thinks they need every dollar is Cigna, which reported an almost six billion dollars in profits in 2025.

After Cygna paid the actual health care providers and its employees and maintained its buildings and grounds and paid its taxes and every other expense that it incurred, it charged enough money beyond that to accumulate six billion dollars.

Part of that money comes from the city of New Britain and the employees who use Cygna.

In one year, that money could pay New Britain's $18.9 million dollar education deficit 317 times over.

Another way to conceive of that amount of money is that it is approximately a fifth of the entire yearly state budget of Connecticut.

Our society generates tons of wealth, and it's astounding that we can't find a few million dollars to properly fund our public schools.

It is a moral failure against the students of New Britain that we can lay off their teachers and staff and slash the opportunities available to them while allowing corporate accumulation in the billions.

Different political choices need to be made to protect the needs of students and families like those of New Britain instead of out of control corporate profits.

Thank you.

Thanks for speaking.

Oh, I'm sorry.

Better put my glasses on, huh?

Step right up.

Sorry.

My name is Minna Guevas, and I'm from 97 Basset Street.

My daughter is a fourth grader in North End Elementary.

I'm here today because the conversation about our school budgets has changed in the last week.

And parents need to be part of that conversation.

I read I read the recent report on concerns about leadership and spending in the district.

And as a taxpayer, I take that seriously.

Families like mine work hard, and we want to know that every tax dollar is being used with care.

When questions are raised about how money is being managed, it's important that they're addressed openly.

If something isn't being managed well, I want it fixed.

If contracts and review need reviews, fix them, and if they are there are inefficiencies, remove them.

Accountability is all we demand from elected officials and school district leaders.

But accountability and their and underfunding are not the same thing.

These aren't extras.

They are the services that turn her 504 plan from a legal document into an actual meaningful education.

If those positions are cut, my daughter loses access.

That's the reality.

I know taxes have gone up, and families feel the strain.

Good management is essential.

Adequate funding is essential.

We can and must have both.

So tonight I'm asking for a balanced approach.

Protect the staff who directly support students, reading and math interventions, classroom parents, counselors, and teachers, demand transparency and accountability from the district.

Quarterly reports on class sizes, service deliveries, and progress on students with 504 and IEPs.

It will build trust and show taxpayers exactly where the money is going.

Don't allow concerns about management to justify under funding.

Fix the problems, but don't do it by reducing the support kids receive every day in their classrooms.

I'm not asking for luxury.

I'm asking for the basic staffing that allows my child and hundreds like her to access an education they are legally and morally entitled to.

Responsible spending is critical, but responsible spending also means ensuring that the children who need the most help don't lose the little help they already have.

Please protect North End Elementary, protect the people who work with our kids, and make sure the solutions we pursue don't come at that expense.

The students who are really fighting to keep up.

Thank you.

Anyone else wish to address the council?

Anyone else?

One more time.

Anybody else?

Seeing no hands.

This concludes public participation at 9 55.

Before I announce the next steps and actions to be taken by the council.

Does any aldermen wish to speak briefly for a couple of minutes on what they've heard?

Alder Alder Woman Maldonado and followed by old Alder Woman Scott.

Thank you, everyone.

I want to say thank you to everyone who came in today and spoke of your for yourself and for others.

I hear you, and I'm here because all of you.

Education is very important to me because our children is our future.

I will continue to fight for a better school system and a fair funding of education.

As Malcolm X said, education is the passport for the future.

Thank you.

Thank you, Alderwoman.

Alder Woman Scott.

Anyone else on that first?

Oh, uh, does any other person wish to speak?

Uh I'll bow to you, Alder Woman Scott.

Hear me.

Oh, Matt.

Thank you, Mr.

Chairman.

Um, that was an impressive crowd.

We don't usually get that as often.

And I just want to say thank you for everybody, especially all you folks that hung in there all night with us.

Uh, you're clearly very passionate about this issue.

And uh we're gonna do some hard work to get down to it and try and figure it out for you.

Thank you, folks.

Hi, everybody.

Peace and love.

I'm so excited to see so many people here.

I used to come to these meetings before I was on the council, and for the budget, maybe there'd be two people, five people here about the education, and this is so important, and it's great that the community is stepping up and holding everybody accountable because that's what needs to happen here.

Um, you guys are preaching to the choir, like I hear everything that you're saying, and I totally agree with it.

Um, this unfortunately, we don't we don't prioritize prevention and making sure that our kids go get the education that they need is a perfect prevention.

Um, it's very important, and we we don't really prioritize that in this country, unfortunately, and that's why inner cities like New Britain tend to not get the priorities that they're supposed to have, and that's happened for over a decade here in this city, and now we're trying to figure out what to do with it.

But believe me, I hear you, and I'm gonna fight to try to get whatever we can to try to improve things.

I raised a kid here, I didn't like the way that things were, and that's why I'm standing here, and I'll continue to stand here and fight right alongside with you.

So thank you guys for coming.

I won't I have tons of notes, that's why I was like, I don't even know what to say.

I have so much to say, but for now we'll leave it at that.

We still have the board of ad meeting on the round table.

I think everybody should definitely listen into that.

We'll be asking questions and trying to figure out because we give the money to the board of ad, but we are not in control of what they spend.

So I I want to make sure that people understand that.

So we we will be asking questions and trying to figure out that as well.

Um, and the other budget meetings that we'll be having.

Please try to tune into those because you know that's important information to get.

So I I hope you guys will keep coming.

Like, don't let this be the last time that you come.

And thank you so much.

Alder Woman Delernia.

I remembered your name, yeah.

Hi, thank you everybody for coming out as a proud public school student, uh, born and raised here in New Britain.

Uh, I understand.

And it seems like we're always we're always begging for money for education.

Uh, when I was a young parent, I was in your position coming up and uh advocating for my daughter and her schoolmates.

So it seems like it's a uh never-ending process, but hopefully we get it right this time.

And thank you for coming out.

Thank you, Alwan.

Is it all the woman Barboza with her hand up all the way?

Put your hand up all the way.

First and foremost, I want to thank everyone that came out and spoke.

I too am a product of the public school system here in New Britain, so are my children and not my granddaughter.

Um I want to personally thank you all.

Your voices were loud, your voices are heard, and um this takes this takes everyone's effort to fund this board of education budget.

Um, the city, the state.

Um I was in elementary school, teachers didn't come out of their pockets, they were funded.

Nowadays, teachers have to come out of their pockets.

They not only do they support the schools, they support their families, and it shouldn't have to be that way.

Um, we are working hard as individuals were speaking, we were talking, um, trying, we were looking at the budget, trying to see.

Um let's keep our fingers crossed, and um let's hope that up in the state they do the right thing to help our students and our teachers and our administrators and our nurses and our principals and our paraprofessionals.

Um our children need us, they need us, they need us.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Chairman.

Um, so just for the record, I did come in late because I went from one baseball field to another baseball field because I was coaching um one game and then practice another game.

So I know what it is to give back to our kids as a coach.

I use my own money to buy the kids snacks after their games.

Um I send supplies with my son to the schools for the teachers, whether it's markers, boards, notebooks.

So I I understand um the need in our in our classrooms.

Um and this is not this is the beginning.

We have to meet with the with the board of ed members, and the budget is not finalized until the end of June.

So it's the beginning, it's it's not we're nowhere near the end at all.

Um so we're not voting on the budget today.

I heard one of the um public speaker or the parents that came in um stated we're voting on the budget.

That is not correct.

We're not voting on the budget, that's not till the end of June.

Um we are again, like I stated at the last meeting.

Hopefully, um, our state reps and uh sender comes through with money from the state, um, because it's a tough, we have to make tough choices, right?

We can put up the mail rate, and then that's that's gonna hurt um homeowners like me, right?

Single parent, um, that my taxes are gonna go up.

Um, but then again, my son goes to school in New Britain schools, he goes to the Loreto, and I want him to be um to have the support that he needs to get him through the day in school.

Um, so we're gonna be making tough decisions, um, but it's not the end, and I just want that to be clear.

We have to the end of June, and we're gonna keep scrapping with these numbers and try to figure it out.

Thank you.

Alderman, sorry, Alderman Barrero.

Thank you.

Uh, I just want to thank everyone for coming out here and sticking it out.

I know it's three after ten.

Um, I did count uh 56 total speakers, one that did not did not come up to the podium, not including the council.

Uh, but again, thank you so much.

Uh, we are still fighting the fight.

Uh, we will not give up.

Um, majority of us are parents and have students in the same system.

Um, so let's, you know, let's let's keep grinding and just want to thank you guys.

Thank you all.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Uh, yeah, I rise in support of more public education dollars.

You will never find me not ever saying that.

I do want to touch on the details some of our speakers spoke about tonight.

A couple of them mentioned that you know, if this process continues as is for X number of years, those students are gonna grow up and they're gonna have to make these decisions today.

That's me.

That's how long this issue has been going on.

And I heard somebody cite 56 million dollars.

That sounds right.

It sounded similar to a number when I was in middle school, when I was in high school.

So if there is an education dollar, best believe I know how to ring this try ring this towel as dry as possible because I have already had to deal with the decisions made by policymakers.

And these are choices, some of them definitely not ours, definitely not on councils or mayors within the past 20 or 30 or 40 years.

But you do have somebody who is going who is coming from a place of budget cuts, who has already had to deal with this.

I see these students come up here and they're telling me about me.

I see politicians speak, and they're still speaking about me because of where I am today.

But just know that wherever there is room, I am finding it.

Um I do have about two and a half million or so dollars to dig out, right?

I do not believe a budget cut for future increases is the right call because by the time we close our schools, we will not need the money.

There won't be schools to fund, right?

So I am committed to finding at least a level budget for education, and of course, fully funding that library.

Um they made a wonderful pitch today.

I will say my one mark on the library's pitch is the comparison of cost.

We are talking about on one hand education, public education being 18 million dollars short out of a budget that is 270, 280 million dollars.

Fully funding the library requires about 300 to 400,000 of it.

And I know that's a lot of numbers, but basically, the education gap is this large, our city budget is this large, and in the middle, we have a library whose budget is this large.

I think we can do that, and I say that with such cautious optimism.

But you have fighters.

Thank you.

Thank you, Alderman.

Good evening.

I'm just gonna keep this brief because it's a complex situation for me and personal situation for for me, but I know what it takes.

Um to be in the school district to work with kids and believe in kids and have a kid and have kids have staff and um people that believe in them.

Um a lot of people don't know.

I went through public schools, not here in um New Burton, but in Waterbury, but I was very transient from kindergarten to eighth grade.

I went to seven different public schools, and it was always one caring adult in each of those buildings that made a difference in my life.

Um, hope that we get this budget straight and that we can fulfill the necessary um steps to make each and every one of our kids feel loved, believed in, and successful.

Thank you.

Hang on, Alam.

Seeing no other hands raised.

Oh, I'm sorry, Alderman Centeno.

I was gonna miss you.

Thank you for uh Mr.

Chair.

I just want to thank whoever dropped this off.

Thank you.

This is going straight over here.

All right, it wasn't signed, so uh, yours is the president because I love I just want to thank uh all the speakers uh particularly the the young students, the young folks, because you are the future, you are our future, and uh you're gonna be our future your our future engineers, doctors, teachers, all right, and maybe alderman mayors.

So, but thank you so much for coming out.

Don't lose the passion.

All right, this is democracy at its best.

So thank you for coming out.

Have a good idea.

Hold on, Vargas.

I'm gonna be short because everyone's already said everything.

But it's 10.08, and we still almost have a full room here, and I just want to say thank you all for still sticking it out.

Um, you heard of us all.

Um, we've all been talking, we will be fighting, we will be finding as much money as we can.

Um, our kids are our future.

We all believe that.

We all know that.

Um these are not just words, we will be putting our money where our mouth is.

I said that right, right?

Um, but really, um, our kids are a future, and we know that.

Um, you know, we hear these stories, we hear these success stories of all these of kids that started in New Britain and that are have done wonderful great things, and um, we want to continue um doing that.

We will be putting our money where our mouth is I said that right um but really um our kids are a future and we know that um you know we hear these stories we hear these success stories of all these of kids that started in New Britain and that are have done wonderful great things and um we want to continue um doing that so again thank you President Santiago um here the purpose for us is to listen and I just wanted to let you know that I I am listening over here I'm here just basically just to listen and you all heard and you all been heard from the moments that I've been here sitting in this this desk from whatever see that was that you all have been heard I and I I noted the mayor again I'm I'll advocate again because everyone he's been in the capital today while we're here listening he's in the capitol again advocating for you guys again so that being said you are been heard thank you having heard from the all the people and and our fifty plus speakers which is very encouraging to hear when three or four years ago there were six people at a budget hearing um the council um we'll be discussing the entire city budget on the fifth sixth and seventh of all departments next week the seventh is reserved for the board of education in the school's budget where we'll be discussing the suit superintendent of the boe uh the budget gap that everybody recognizes and has been perennial and has gone on too long I just want to correct coach uh Ortiz Luna that uh as I said at the top we're at the bottom of the sixth inning in this budget process so we have about three innings to go and um I'm confident we'll be done before the end of May if we face a June deadline and um I I just I'm confident that if we all work together the Board of Education the mayor who whose goal and my goal and our goal is a sustainable path on education.

Somebody mentioned the MBR um and we need to sustain increases and not go back in future years and find uh find the will to do that notwithstanding the fact that we rely on a seventeenth century property tax to pay for some of this so uh hopefully uh you'll all be listening and I'm I'm very confident that all parties are going to come together to give the schools a fair shake and I hope the library as well uh and we're gonna work hard on it we have three three nights next week and then we'll be uh going back to council to uh act on the mayor's budget so greatly appreciated everyone who spoke tonight thank you uh hearing no other speakers the hearing is adjourned take care of this carry later I'm not wrong thank you for giving us our chair I prefer to have a lot of things that we're